I saw an interesting video on YouTube that got me thinking recently.
The student loan bubble has been discussed frequently in the mainstream media as of late. Some have proposed that this bubble is the next housing crisis, while others have been far more skeptical about its long term significance. Generally, it doesn't seem likely that the problem is going to be seriously addressed and/or totally dealt with anytime soon.
But could women change this?
As we all know, women make up the vast majority of students in higher education. The rapid increases in average debt burden of college graduates during the past cople of decades have been accompanied by equally rapid increases in the percentage of female students in higher education. As women have moved to dominate higher education, men have either been dropping out entirely or just seeking other means of professional progression that don't require expensive undergraduate/graduate degrees. The end result is simple: women are now holding the vast majority of that $1 Trillion+ student loan debt. The problem of the student loan bubble is, largely, a female one; men, because they've become a minority in higher education, simply aren't taking out as many loans. The whole "pay gap" issue only exacerbates this.
http://www.aauw.org/2014/07/08/women-and...loan-debt/
http://www.npr.org/2014/04/03/298800950/...e-wage-gap
Given this reality, is it not plausible that we could soon see the issue of student loan debt framed as a feminist/woman's rights problem? The logical steps are not hard to see:
"The burden of student loans rests primarily with women, who hold the majority of debt; this is inherently unequal, and it perpetuates inequality between men and women."
"Women are being punished for having countered centuries of opppression by coming to outnumber men in higher education; it is unfair that they must pay for this progress by carrying a vastly disproportionate share of the student loan debt"
"Women's progress is being harmed by their carrying a disproportionate share of student loan debt; they can't participate in the American dream (new home, house car, etc) the way men can because they are more likely to be in debt"
"Women's independence is threatened by their disproportionately high student loan burden, as the high debt encourages many women who would otherwise be independent to tie themselves to spouses (men who are likely in a better position than they are financially) who can help pay their debt. This limits female freedom and invites dangerous levels of dependence that can facilitate abuse!"
I could go on. There is plenty here for a politician to work for if he/she sees fit, and I don't think it is entirely unreasonable to predict that the masses will buy it. Remember that the women said politicians would be preaching primarily to (and whose economic fortunes the politician's policies would be primarily aimed to benefit) account for the majority of the electorate. As student loan debts have reached all time highs and the female-owned portion of said debts has also reached record levels, I could see more women in the near future (having incurred more debt than their predecessors and having grown up in a world in which far fewer men share that burden than in the past) finding sympathy with these ideas.
"Why shouldn't men carry their fair share? Women's education only benefits society, men included; it is only fair that we alleviate the undue and unjust burden placed upon women for their progress."
The consequences of this? If this issue were to become a matter of equality and gain serious traction with the more heavily indebted female electorate, I wouldn't be surprised to see it become a priority given our modern society's concern with gender egalitarianism. That could lead ultimately to some sort of resolution that either entirely eliminates of significantly relieves the burden (probably via some substantial degree of forgiveness), likely at the expense of those who didn't take on as much of it (disproportionately men). This would benefit the relatively few men who DO have substantial student loan debt, however, as they too would see some relief.
Just a thought.
The student loan bubble has been discussed frequently in the mainstream media as of late. Some have proposed that this bubble is the next housing crisis, while others have been far more skeptical about its long term significance. Generally, it doesn't seem likely that the problem is going to be seriously addressed and/or totally dealt with anytime soon.
But could women change this?
As we all know, women make up the vast majority of students in higher education. The rapid increases in average debt burden of college graduates during the past cople of decades have been accompanied by equally rapid increases in the percentage of female students in higher education. As women have moved to dominate higher education, men have either been dropping out entirely or just seeking other means of professional progression that don't require expensive undergraduate/graduate degrees. The end result is simple: women are now holding the vast majority of that $1 Trillion+ student loan debt. The problem of the student loan bubble is, largely, a female one; men, because they've become a minority in higher education, simply aren't taking out as many loans. The whole "pay gap" issue only exacerbates this.
http://www.aauw.org/2014/07/08/women-and...loan-debt/
http://www.npr.org/2014/04/03/298800950/...e-wage-gap
Given this reality, is it not plausible that we could soon see the issue of student loan debt framed as a feminist/woman's rights problem? The logical steps are not hard to see:
"The burden of student loans rests primarily with women, who hold the majority of debt; this is inherently unequal, and it perpetuates inequality between men and women."
"Women are being punished for having countered centuries of opppression by coming to outnumber men in higher education; it is unfair that they must pay for this progress by carrying a vastly disproportionate share of the student loan debt"
"Women's progress is being harmed by their carrying a disproportionate share of student loan debt; they can't participate in the American dream (new home, house car, etc) the way men can because they are more likely to be in debt"
"Women's independence is threatened by their disproportionately high student loan burden, as the high debt encourages many women who would otherwise be independent to tie themselves to spouses (men who are likely in a better position than they are financially) who can help pay their debt. This limits female freedom and invites dangerous levels of dependence that can facilitate abuse!"
I could go on. There is plenty here for a politician to work for if he/she sees fit, and I don't think it is entirely unreasonable to predict that the masses will buy it. Remember that the women said politicians would be preaching primarily to (and whose economic fortunes the politician's policies would be primarily aimed to benefit) account for the majority of the electorate. As student loan debts have reached all time highs and the female-owned portion of said debts has also reached record levels, I could see more women in the near future (having incurred more debt than their predecessors and having grown up in a world in which far fewer men share that burden than in the past) finding sympathy with these ideas.
"Why shouldn't men carry their fair share? Women's education only benefits society, men included; it is only fair that we alleviate the undue and unjust burden placed upon women for their progress."
The consequences of this? If this issue were to become a matter of equality and gain serious traction with the more heavily indebted female electorate, I wouldn't be surprised to see it become a priority given our modern society's concern with gender egalitarianism. That could lead ultimately to some sort of resolution that either entirely eliminates of significantly relieves the burden (probably via some substantial degree of forgiveness), likely at the expense of those who didn't take on as much of it (disproportionately men). This would benefit the relatively few men who DO have substantial student loan debt, however, as they too would see some relief.
Just a thought.
Know your enemy and know yourself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know yourself but not your enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know thy enemy but not yourself, wallow in defeat every time.