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Tia Warren

Michael Brown

TA ENG 9 Honors

04 May, 2021

Should Student Loan Debt Be Easier To Discharge?

For decades now millions of vulnerable students striving for a higher education were

mislead and lied to about their lucrative futures after college, and are saddled with crippling

student debt and loans that afflict them for the rest of their lifetime. According to a Debt.org

article, The national default level on student loan repayment is approximately 10%, meaning that

4.4 million borrowers are in default on America’s $1.4 trillion student loan problem (Fay). This

data sheds light on how student loans and educational debt is a huge burden on countless

American citizens and the government itself, contributing to to the outstanding amount of debt

that the US has overall. This is important because it shows that millions of Americans can’t

afford to pay off their student loans and are being forced to pay for debts that have major

reductions and destroy financial health. Therefore, educational and student loan debt should be

easier to discharge in bankruptcy to prevent students from living with heavy educational debt for

decades, help people achieve life goals easier, and make it easier to live a normal life affordably.

Educational and student loan debt discharge could possibly save people from having to

struggle with their debt for a lifetime. As reported by the Government Accounting Office, 37%

of student loan borrowers age-65 and over are in default on their loans (qtd. in Debt.org). Along

with that, educational debt cannot be discharged without proof that your loans “impose an undue

hardship on you and your dependents,” which is also called the “Brunner Test” (Debt.org, Fay).

This shows that student debt is a consistent issue that haunts people throughout out their lifetime,
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even when they’re on the edge of retirement age in their 60s and have worked everyday of their

life but can’t get rid of them due to subjective laws. Others might argue that these citizens were

lazy, didn’t work hard enough to pay off their debts sooner, or had the wrong jobs. However,

Senator Elizabeth Warren says, “The enormous student debt burden weighing down our

economy isn’t the result of laziness or irresponsibility. It’s the result of a government that has

consistently put the interests of the wealthy and well-connected over the interests of working

families (ProCon.org).” Another defense is according to The Consumer Financial Protection

bureau, 2.8 million people 60-and-over were paying on student loans in 2017 (qtd. in Debt.org).

In conclusion, educational and student loan debt discharge is a necessity to prevent people from

having to work late in their life and help them earn retirement and other life goals sooner.

Americans life goals and business dreams would become more achieveable if educational

and student loan debt could be discharged. According to asa.org, student loan borrowers have

shown that they delay important life goals like retirement savings, car purchases, home

purchases, marriage, and becoming an entrepreneur because of their educational debt (qtd. in

ProCon.org). This information is proof of the haunting, detrimental effects that educational debt

has on people in America; The ability to discharge it would give people more opportunities to

dedicate their money to other important life goals and save for the future. Some might argue that

discharging educational debt could harm Americans more by ruining loan programs and create

irresponsible behaviors in college students because they could just cheat the system. However,

according to a Brookings.edu article, “If private student loan debtors were behaving

opportunistically pre-policy, we would have expected a sharp relative decline in bankruptcy

filings after the 2005 provision impeded their alleged opportunistic behavior, as compared to

debtors whose incentives were not directly affected by the nondischargeability provision. Yet,
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we do not find evidence of such a reduction (Darolla).” Based on that information, most students

weren’t taking advantage of the loan system before the 2005 law. In closing, discharging

educational debt could help Americans live a more fulfilling and accomplished life because they

didn’t have to delay them, nor struggle to just live day by day.

Allowing the discharge of educational and student loan debt could help American’s live a

more affordable day-to-day life and pay for basic needs. As said on ProCon.org, “A survey by

American Student Assistance found that 35% of respondents “found it difficult to buy daily

necessities because of their student loans,” and “55.7% of millennial renters said they could not

buy a home because of their student loan debt (qtd. in ProCon.org).” This is a major detail

pointing out how slightly more than ⅓ of the respondents in this survey by ASA couldn’t even

afford the basic necessities that they need to live daily due to the heavy burden of their student

debt. The opposition might claim that student loans have affordable plans and programs or that

they can help everyday people get an education to achieve the goals they want, but interview

responses in a USnews.com article are completely opposite. One example is, “Smith was

confronted with a harsh reality. At $1,400 per month, his student loan payments were double his

rent, and he was unemployed." Another example is, “The worst part is, we have to save our cash

to buy a house," she said. "Because our student loans are now so high, together, we cannot

finance a house."” These stories tell us how student’s loans have damaged and harmed families,

stopping them from doing what they wish they could do (Sheehy). To sum it up, Americans

could live more affordable lives if they could discharge their lifelong student debt.

To end off, educational and student loan debt dischargeability is a necessity to avoid

students from accumulating high educational debt for decades, support students to accomplish

their ambitions in life easier, and make it more comfortable to live an average life within a
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reasonable budget. Student loans are a common issue for millions of people all over the US;

Back in 2016, the Department of Education said that 3.3 million borrowers had 74.5 billion in

Parent Plus loans to pay for their children’s education. This evidence shows how student loans

are a plague that effects millions of students and parents across the country with thousands of

dollars in debt that will take them countless years to repay while still having to battle with their

daily life and expenses. One claim the opposition might make is student loans play a vital role in

helping people achieve their education, and student debt dischargeability would promote

irresponsible behaviors in students, but most college students and people with educational debt

disagree. A USnews.com article stated, “Student loans are like a gateway drug to destructive

financial behavior. At least, that's how John Smith sees them. “I took out all of the loans I

could,” says the University of Oregon graduate, who is now 46 years old. “What I didn't realize

was the habits it would create (Sheehy).”” Another statement on ProCon.org is students who

didn’t understand the consequences of taking out big loans at age 18, or who were misled about

future job prospects, can be saddled with six-figure debt for decades (ProCon.org). The looming

thunder cloud hanging over our country and its economy is the threat of student loans and

educational debt that can’t be discharged; It leaves citizens all throughout America suffering and

struggling to get through life without financial strife. This is an ailment that cannot go on any

longer in America, and it is our job to demonstrate and prove to our government that we will not

stand any longer for the nondischargeability of educational debt that is highly immoral and

biased.

Works Cited

“Bankruptcy & Student Loan Discharge: Filing Student Loan Bankruptcy.” Debt.org, 19 Apr.
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2021, www.debt.org/students/bankruptcy/.

Darolia, Rajeev. “Should Student Loans Be Dischargeable in Bankruptcy?” Brookings,

Brookings, 29 July 2016,

www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2015/09/29/should-student-loans-be-

dischargeable-in-bankruptcy/.

“Should Student Loan Debt Be Easier to Discharge in Bankruptcy? - Top 3 Pros & Cons.”

ProCon.org, 15 Mar. 2021, www.procon.org/headlines/should-student-loan-debt-be-

easier-to-discharge-in-bankruptcy-top-3-pros-cons/.

“Undergrads Blow It With Student Loan Refunds.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News &

World Report, www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/

2013/07/24/undergrads-blow-it-with-student-loan-refunds.