Subscribe Place Ad Buy Trib Photos Readers' Choice Contests
Jobs Homes Autos Classifieds
Trib Total Media Contact Us
Editorial: Student loans are the new mortgage | TribLIVE.com
Editorials

Editorial: Student loans are the new mortgage

Tribune-Review
973460_web1_gtr-loriedit-040419
ShareAlike | Creative Commons

The changing demographics of the Pennsylvania Legislature are going to do more than increase Harrisburg’s social media presence and a demand for avocado toast.

They are producing a whole new perspective on debt, and it’s an important view to understand as we move forward.

We might pine for the old days, but we have to plan for the new ones, and the change in how we spend and borrow money, and why we borrow it, is dramatically different compared to decades past.

The National Conference of State Legislators says the average age of the people who represent Americans in their state capitols is 56. That means they graduated from college about 1985.

The average college tuition at that point was about $3,000. The average home was $82,500, and household income was about $30,000.

Today, the average annual cost of attendance (a figure that includes all of the fees and costs that aren’t specifically tuition, many of which didn’t exist 34 years ago) is $28,150 for a public school. Average home price is $173,300, and household income $59,195.

Income has almost doubled. Home prices are up just a bit more than that. College costs 10 times as much.

College also costs more over a longer time. In 2014, U.S. News and World Report showed student loans planned to take 10 years to pay off ended up taking 21 years, meaning a bachelor’s degree could take longer to finance than a 15-year mortgage — and parents could still be paying student loans when their kids leave for college.

State Sen. Lindsey Williams, 36, just took office and has made student debt a priority, co-sponsoring a bill that calls for the state to refinance Pennsylvania student debt through the issue of up to $1 billion in bonds.

Tribune-Review readers have responded to this, many opposed to the state acting like Mom and Dad, taking out a parent loan to cover a kid’s bills. You decided to go to school, some say. Decide to pay your way! That’s fair.

But regardless of the virtues or vices of this bill, younger legislators such as Williams lend an important voice to the discussion as Harrisburg continues to spend money on all kinds of programs, borrowing funds and committing us to long-term debt with no end in sight.

We talk a lot about government and politicians mortgaging our kids’ futures. Williams and her generation can speak to a simple fact. It’s not the mortgage you have to worry about. It’s the student loan that really bites you.

Categories: Opinion | Editorials
TribLIVE commenting policy

You are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our Terms of Service.

We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.

We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. We make an effort to protect discussions from repeated comments either by the same reader or different readers

We follow the same standards for taste as the daily newspaper. A few things we won't tolerate: personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, proselytizing and SHOUTING. Don't include URLs to Web sites.

We do not edit comments. They are either approved or deleted. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article. In this case, we may fix spelling and punctuation.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don't want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly.

We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. But these suggestions should be sent via e-mail. To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction. Instead, corrections will be made in a blog post or in an article.