Wouldn’t it be great if all of the 1.6 trillion dollars of student loan debt were just paid off by all Americans together? That is what Senator Bernie Sanders was trying to propose in order to diminish all student debt. He proposes that the loan forgiveness program can be funded by a new tax on financial transactions, which would raise 2 trillion dollars over the next ten years. The logistics of the tax plan are a 0.5% fee on all stock trades, a 0.1% fee on all bond trades, and a 0.005% fee on all derivatives trades.

I do not think that his plan is very fair at all because why should America as a whole have to pay more taxes in order to get borrowers out of their debts. It is not fair for the Americans who had to struggle yet successfully pay back their student loans. Similarly, Senator Elizabeth Warren also has a tax plan in order to cut student debts. She proposes that up to $50,000 of debt be canceled for every household with an income of less than a hundred thousand. But what is the reason for both of these senators proposing such plans? They believe that through these cancellations of debt, they will be able to close the wealth gap within America. Student loan debt among other things is a reason why many Americans can have a late start on completing milestones in their life such a buying a home, starting a family, or even retiring.

Even though these student loan debts can take a huge toll on the borrowers’ life I do not think that it is fair that all citizens should have to pay for it. With these debt cancellations, it could set a wrong idea with future borrowers. It may encourage future borrowers to apply for more money in their loans thinking that the government may forgive it later, but there is still a major possibility that it will not be forgiven. Another reason that forgiving the loans is going to be detrimental because it will be a loss of revenue for the government. If the borrowers’ loans are paid back immediately when they are forgiven the student loan lenders are going to lose all of their profits they would have made in interest and fees.

Instead of having student loans be forgiven, I think that the more important plan that these senators should be focusing on is how to educate the youth to make more financially smart decisions. When it comes to student loans, many of the borrowers are just out of high school and do not truly understand the implications of the big financial decisions they are about to make when they take out these loans. It should be mandatory for student borrowers to take a course or a seminar in high school so that they can learn many important financial decisions.