Dear Mr./Mrs. President,

“Debt is the worst poverty” – Thomas Fuller. Studies have shown that student debt takes a while to pay off. Most of the time, it takes about 21 years to pay off about $30,000 of student loan debt. My concern about this is that many college students will be in debt much of the rest of their life. As our next president, I think you should help pay off student loan debts, at least decrease the interest rate, or maybe even not charge interest at all so they can pay down the loans faster.

To begin, student loan debt must be reduced because many college graduates and undergraduates have very high student loans. After they graduate from college, they have to pay back these loans. In the article “National Student Loan Debt Reaches a Bonkers $1.2 Trillion,” it says, “Many students are expecting their student-loan debt to be around $30,000.”Essentially, this means when a college graduate finds a job his/her life will be hard. The graduates will have to work excessively to sustain themselves by getting multiple jobs. These graduates and undergraduates have student loans of various amounts that must be reduced. Generally, when students have $30,000 in student loan debt, it takes quite a long time to pay it back. According to the article, “Rep. Barbara Lee: Students Need Great Advocate on Capitol Hill,” it says, “Studies show the average loan holder actually takes 21 years to pay off their degree.” Basically, if the loan holder has a child just after graduating from college, by the time his/her child starts college, he/she will have at least two more years of student loan debt in addition to any financial aid he/she gives to his/her child. This means that when the child goes to college, the parent-loan holder is paying expenses for two colleges. Clearly, student loan debt takes too long to pay off, so the student loan amount must be lowered. Finally, student loan debt delays future retirement and retirement savings. College debt delays graduates from saving up for retirement. In the article “Here’s What the Average American Owes After College,” it says, “If you went ten years saving $350 a month until age 32, you would have $770,000 for retirement by age 65.” Clearly, if today’s graduates are using the $350 a month towards student loans, there will be nothing left to save towards retirement for at least 11 years. Therefore, graduates would need to delay retirement and continue to have to work full time. In all, retirement savings are delayed by student loan debts, so it is crucial for these loans to be reduced.

Once more, Mr./Mrs. President, I really think the government should either charge little to no interest on student loan debts or reduce the amount owed. Even though I’m under 18 and too young to vote, I’m not too young to speak up about this issue because it can affect my future. This issue is dire, since many college students today are in debt. I’m concerned that when it comes time for me to go to college, my student loan debt will be so high I will have to work my whole life to pay off this one loan. The problem will only get worse, unless you do something about it.

Sincerely,

Evan S.