Reimburse College Students for their Contributions to Society

Reimburse College Students for their Contributions to Society

December 16, 2021
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

It’s well known and understood that higher education benefits society, from workforce productivity, creativity, problem-solving, innovation, and more. And yet, while greater American society relies on the college and universities to prepare each successive generation for the future, we have been forcing students and their families to take on personal debt to pay for these benefits to society. That’s wrong. It’s time to #ReimburseOurStudents – both for their hard work, and for the debts we’ve forced them to take on our behalf.

Student debt is now a $1.73 trillion national crisis and grows every day, impacting 47 million people and their families. Students – and, to a growing extent, their parents – have taken on this debt with the promise that they – or their children – would earn higher wages and pay it off. Unfortunately for too many, it has been a broken promise.

It didn’t used to be this way. The Reagan era ushered in a belief that government programs, including education, stood in the way of people’s dreams and should be severely cut back. Public goods came to be seen as investments, ones that were purely economic in nature. For these reasons, among others, a nation that had expanded public education and the funding necessary to support it for centuries decided to reverse course. Instead of funding higher education on the principle that it benefits us all, the country began shifting the cost to individual students.

Students make significant contributions to society. That’s why we support a movement to #ReimburseOurStudents.

Our nation cannot thrive without higher learning – not just universities and colleges, but also career and technical schools. If we push students to pursue higher education, then we also must remove the high hurdle to thrive upon graduation or completion.

Reimburse Our Students

When an employee spends personal money on something for work, like travel, technology, or office supplies, they get reimbursed. It’s common to practice to reimburse individuals for their upfront payment for work. Why not education?

Our country can’t thrive and compete in a global economy without higher education.  Education benefits everyone in the community, state, and nation. Therefore, the costs of that education should be equitably shared. Let’s rethink student debt and #ReimburseOurStudents.

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