A Commencement Address for the Most Indebted Class Ever
The system is trying to squeeze you harder than any generation before you.
Congratulations, college graduates! As you enter the next phase of life, you and your parents should be proud of your achievements.
But, I'm sorry to say, they've come at a price: The system is trying to squeeze you harder than any previous generation.
Many baby boomers, perhaps including your parents, benefited from a time when higher education was seen as a shared social responsibility. Between 1945 and 1975, tens of millions of them graduated from college with little or no debt.
But now, tens of millions of you are graduating with astounding levels of debt.
This year, seven in 10 graduating seniors borrowed for their educations. Their average debt is now over $37,000 -- the highest figure for any class ever.
Already, some 43 percent of borrowers -- together owing $200 billion -- have either stopped making payments or are behind on their student loans. Millions are in default.
"There's no economic benefit to this system whatsoever. Indebted students delay starting families and buying houses, experience compounding economic distress, and are less inclined to take entrepreneurial risks."
This debt casts a long shadow on the finances of graduates. During the last quarter of 2015 alone, the Education Department moved to garnish $176 million in wages.
There's no economic benefit to this system whatsoever. Indebted students delay starting families and buying houses, experience compounding economic distress, and are less inclined to take entrepreneurial risks.
One driver of the change from your parents' generation has been tax cuts for the wealthy, which have led to cuts in higher education budgets. Forty-seven states now spend less per student on higher education than they did before the 2008 economic recession.
In effect, we're shifting tax obligations away from multi-millionaires and onto states and middle-income taxpayers. And that's led colleges to rely on higher tuition costs and fees.
In 2005, for instance, Congress stopped sharing revenue from the estate tax -- a levy on inherited wealth exclusively paid by multi-million dollar estates -- with the states. Most state legislatures failed to replace it at the state level, costing them billions in revenue over the last decade.
In fact, the 32 states that let their estate taxes expire are foregoing between $3 to $6 billion a year, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates. The resulting tax benefits have gone entirely to multi-millionaires and billionaires -- and contributed to tuition increases.
For example, California used to raise almost $1 billion a year in revenue from its state-level estate tax. Now that figure is down to zero. And since 2008, average tuition has increased over $3,500 at four-year public colleges and universities in the state.
"Imagine a political movement made up of the 40 million households that currently hold $1.2 trillion in debt."
Florida, meanwhile, lost $700 million a year -- and raised tuition nearly $2,500. Michigan lost $155 million a year and hiked average tuition $2,200.
But it doesn't have to be this way. Washington State went the opposite route.
Washington taxes wealthy estates and dedicates the $150 million it raises each year to an education legacy trust account, which supports K-12 education and the state's community college system. Other states should follow this model, and students and parents should take the lead in demanding it.
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said at a Philadelphia town hall that there's one thing he's 100 percent certain about.
If millions of young people stood up and said they're "sick and tired of leaving college $30,000, $50,000, $70,000 in debt, that they want public colleges and universities tuition-free," he predicted, "that is exactly what would happen."
Sanders is right: Imagine a political movement made up of the 40 million households that currently hold $1.2 trillion in debt.
If we stood up and pressed for policies to eliminate millionaire tax breaks and dedicate the revenue to debt-free education, it would change the face of America.
Graduates, let's get to work.
FINAL DAY! This is urgent.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just hours left in our Spring Campaign, we're still falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Congratulations, college graduates! As you enter the next phase of life, you and your parents should be proud of your achievements.
But, I'm sorry to say, they've come at a price: The system is trying to squeeze you harder than any previous generation.
Many baby boomers, perhaps including your parents, benefited from a time when higher education was seen as a shared social responsibility. Between 1945 and 1975, tens of millions of them graduated from college with little or no debt.
But now, tens of millions of you are graduating with astounding levels of debt.
This year, seven in 10 graduating seniors borrowed for their educations. Their average debt is now over $37,000 -- the highest figure for any class ever.
Already, some 43 percent of borrowers -- together owing $200 billion -- have either stopped making payments or are behind on their student loans. Millions are in default.
"There's no economic benefit to this system whatsoever. Indebted students delay starting families and buying houses, experience compounding economic distress, and are less inclined to take entrepreneurial risks."
This debt casts a long shadow on the finances of graduates. During the last quarter of 2015 alone, the Education Department moved to garnish $176 million in wages.
There's no economic benefit to this system whatsoever. Indebted students delay starting families and buying houses, experience compounding economic distress, and are less inclined to take entrepreneurial risks.
One driver of the change from your parents' generation has been tax cuts for the wealthy, which have led to cuts in higher education budgets. Forty-seven states now spend less per student on higher education than they did before the 2008 economic recession.
In effect, we're shifting tax obligations away from multi-millionaires and onto states and middle-income taxpayers. And that's led colleges to rely on higher tuition costs and fees.
In 2005, for instance, Congress stopped sharing revenue from the estate tax -- a levy on inherited wealth exclusively paid by multi-million dollar estates -- with the states. Most state legislatures failed to replace it at the state level, costing them billions in revenue over the last decade.
In fact, the 32 states that let their estate taxes expire are foregoing between $3 to $6 billion a year, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates. The resulting tax benefits have gone entirely to multi-millionaires and billionaires -- and contributed to tuition increases.
For example, California used to raise almost $1 billion a year in revenue from its state-level estate tax. Now that figure is down to zero. And since 2008, average tuition has increased over $3,500 at four-year public colleges and universities in the state.
"Imagine a political movement made up of the 40 million households that currently hold $1.2 trillion in debt."
Florida, meanwhile, lost $700 million a year -- and raised tuition nearly $2,500. Michigan lost $155 million a year and hiked average tuition $2,200.
But it doesn't have to be this way. Washington State went the opposite route.
Washington taxes wealthy estates and dedicates the $150 million it raises each year to an education legacy trust account, which supports K-12 education and the state's community college system. Other states should follow this model, and students and parents should take the lead in demanding it.
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said at a Philadelphia town hall that there's one thing he's 100 percent certain about.
If millions of young people stood up and said they're "sick and tired of leaving college $30,000, $50,000, $70,000 in debt, that they want public colleges and universities tuition-free," he predicted, "that is exactly what would happen."
Sanders is right: Imagine a political movement made up of the 40 million households that currently hold $1.2 trillion in debt.
If we stood up and pressed for policies to eliminate millionaire tax breaks and dedicate the revenue to debt-free education, it would change the face of America.
Graduates, let's get to work.
Congratulations, college graduates! As you enter the next phase of life, you and your parents should be proud of your achievements.
But, I'm sorry to say, they've come at a price: The system is trying to squeeze you harder than any previous generation.
Many baby boomers, perhaps including your parents, benefited from a time when higher education was seen as a shared social responsibility. Between 1945 and 1975, tens of millions of them graduated from college with little or no debt.
But now, tens of millions of you are graduating with astounding levels of debt.
This year, seven in 10 graduating seniors borrowed for their educations. Their average debt is now over $37,000 -- the highest figure for any class ever.
Already, some 43 percent of borrowers -- together owing $200 billion -- have either stopped making payments or are behind on their student loans. Millions are in default.
"There's no economic benefit to this system whatsoever. Indebted students delay starting families and buying houses, experience compounding economic distress, and are less inclined to take entrepreneurial risks."
This debt casts a long shadow on the finances of graduates. During the last quarter of 2015 alone, the Education Department moved to garnish $176 million in wages.
There's no economic benefit to this system whatsoever. Indebted students delay starting families and buying houses, experience compounding economic distress, and are less inclined to take entrepreneurial risks.
One driver of the change from your parents' generation has been tax cuts for the wealthy, which have led to cuts in higher education budgets. Forty-seven states now spend less per student on higher education than they did before the 2008 economic recession.
In effect, we're shifting tax obligations away from multi-millionaires and onto states and middle-income taxpayers. And that's led colleges to rely on higher tuition costs and fees.
In 2005, for instance, Congress stopped sharing revenue from the estate tax -- a levy on inherited wealth exclusively paid by multi-million dollar estates -- with the states. Most state legislatures failed to replace it at the state level, costing them billions in revenue over the last decade.
In fact, the 32 states that let their estate taxes expire are foregoing between $3 to $6 billion a year, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates. The resulting tax benefits have gone entirely to multi-millionaires and billionaires -- and contributed to tuition increases.
For example, California used to raise almost $1 billion a year in revenue from its state-level estate tax. Now that figure is down to zero. And since 2008, average tuition has increased over $3,500 at four-year public colleges and universities in the state.
"Imagine a political movement made up of the 40 million households that currently hold $1.2 trillion in debt."
Florida, meanwhile, lost $700 million a year -- and raised tuition nearly $2,500. Michigan lost $155 million a year and hiked average tuition $2,200.
But it doesn't have to be this way. Washington State went the opposite route.
Washington taxes wealthy estates and dedicates the $150 million it raises each year to an education legacy trust account, which supports K-12 education and the state's community college system. Other states should follow this model, and students and parents should take the lead in demanding it.
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said at a Philadelphia town hall that there's one thing he's 100 percent certain about.
If millions of young people stood up and said they're "sick and tired of leaving college $30,000, $50,000, $70,000 in debt, that they want public colleges and universities tuition-free," he predicted, "that is exactly what would happen."
Sanders is right: Imagine a political movement made up of the 40 million households that currently hold $1.2 trillion in debt.
If we stood up and pressed for policies to eliminate millionaire tax breaks and dedicate the revenue to debt-free education, it would change the face of America.
Graduates, let's get to work.