Twenty-two billion dollars. That’s how much student debt the Education Data Initiative says more than 650 thousand Louisiana residents are carrying. Nationwide, those with incomes less than 125 thousand or household incomes of less than 250 thousand could see their debts reduced or eliminated.
Thirty-two-year-old Victoria Carter says she took out about thirty thousand dollars in loans and had paid all but about eleven thousand dollars of it when her young family relocated for her husband’s job.
“One thing we’ve run into out here is a severe lack of child care. And having two little ones I can’t get them in anywhere full time. So I couldn’t go back to work if I wanted to right now,” Carter says.
Her loans have been on hold and she says if she has to resume payments it will cost about 600 dollars a month for her and her husband. And even though she says her family is frugal, resuming the loans would be tough.
“This potential forgiveness of what remains of my loans really means a lot because it’s not really in the budget anymore for us to pay on both of our loans,” Carter adds.
Carter says young people are pressured to attend colleges to have good careers, but the cost is out of reach for many students now. She says those who say the relief is unfair to people who’ve paid off their loans may not understand how expensive college has become.
“Unless they’re my age they’re not paying the same amount. College was much less expensive even when my dad was in college when I was a kid,” Carter says.
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