On student debt

Had I graduated in June of 2020, I would have liked Susan Campbell to have been the holder of my student loan debt. I then could have gone over two and a half years without paying any of it and then have $10,000 of it miraculously forgiven. I wonder how her column would have read if she had loaned me $27,000 and then was forced to forgive $10,000 of it. I guess I could have said that honoring your debts is a 20th century idea, but that here in the 21st century we simply borrow money never intending to fully pay it back.

My son is currently in college, I required that he pay at least $5,500/year towards his college education, equivalent to the guaranteed student loan amount. He's a sophomore, so that's $11,000 today. However, he's hard working and a saver, so when the fall of 2020 came, he had banked enough to pay his freshman share in cash, which I encouraged him to do. The goal was to minimize his debt at graduation. Tell me please, how do I explain to him that all his hard work was for nothing, he could have worked less, spent more and been in the same, debt free place today?

Finally, yes, I had student loans as well, after college I lived at home for two years and paid them off, early and in full. Timothy Doheny

North Haven