Dear Colleagues:

Student Debt, or more precisely reducing it, has become a major issue in U.S. politics. Its place on the policy agenda is supported with scary numbers. As the new semester began in the Fall of 2020, total student debt was over $1.7 trillion – and that was double the total from a decade before. A 2018 Brookings Institution Study estimated that as many as 40% of borrowers who were scheduled to begin repayment in 2003-04 would default at some point in the next twenty years. It also reported major differences in default rates among types of institutions and the backgrounds of students. For example, students at for-profit training institutions (e.g. trade schools) were twice as likely to default as students from community colleges (52% vs. 26%). Moreover, students at for-profit institutions were four times as likely to borrow as were community college students. And default rates were especially high among blacks who attended but did not complete a for-profit program. The report stated that black BA graduates in the studied cohorts defaulted at five times the rate of white BA graduates. Conversely, students who borrow for graduate school are much less likely to default on their debt – but that debt has been growing substantially and more and more students are at best treading water. Again, the burden is distinctly greater for black students.

President Biden has supported federal legislation to forgive $10,000 in student loans, while opposing proposals from Senator Warren and others to forgive up to $50,000. Such proposals must compete for federal resources with other priorities – even in an era when Democrats and many economists support federal borrowing, there must be questions about on what to spend the money – student debt vs. infrastructure vs. health care vs. vs. vs…. And they raise tough issues of equity. For example, how does one explain to people who have already paid off their debt that others should not have to? How does one explain to people who were never interested in higher education for themselves or their children, and perhaps live in areas with school systems that make it harder to move up the education ladder, that the people who pursued education should get special help? What should be the relative priority of helping those who are in debt now vs. making education more affordable in the future?

Amid the political conflict and dueling proposals about debt relief, it makes sense to step back and ask fundamental questions. What’s the problem? For whom? What should or could be done about it? How should the main proposals be assessed – what are their economic, political, and ethical underpinnings?

Signing In

This semester’s discussions will begin at 12:30 p.m., the usual time. The meeting will be set up as from Noon to 2:00 p.m., so people are not all signing in at the same time and to allow for the discussion to run a bit long. Each week we will send out this newsletter with information about the topic. It will also include a link to register (for free) for the discussion. Every Monday the same information will be posted on our website: fridaylunch.case.edu.

If you register, you will automatically receive from the Zoom system the link to join the meeting. This week’s link for registration is:

https://cwru.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJModuqgrTgiGNdksqAOPKTIvMK49ZI-TnR5

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Please e-mail padg@case.edu if you have questions about how the Zoom version of the Friday Lunch will work or any other suggestions. Or call at 216 368-2426 and we’ll try to get back to you. We are very pleased to be partnering this semester with the Siegal Lifelong Learning Program to share information about the discussions.

Best wishes for safety and security for you and yours,

Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies

About Our Guest

Richard Kazis brings unique perspective to address these questions. For many years he served as Senior Vice President of Jobs for the Future, so as a leading researcher and advocate on issues of workforce development to improve the economic prospects of people who are unlikely to attend four-year college. As Board Chair of the Institute for College Access and Success he now assists efforts to make sense of the crises in higher education finance and the possible responses. Join us as we once again take advantage of Zoom to bring a leading outside expert to the “Friday Lunch” to discuss a vital and fascinating policy challenge.

Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

April 9: Healthcare, Public Health, and Population Health. With Scott Frank, MD, Associate Professor and Director of Public Health Initiatives, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences.

April 16: Dropping the Pilot? Assessing Angela Merkel’s Chancellorship. With Kenneth F. Ledford, Ph.D., Chair, Department of History.

April 23: Depression’s Past and Future. With Jonathan Sadowsky, Ph.D., Theodore J. Castele Professor of History.

April 30: The Republican Party and Demographic Change. With Girma Parris, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science.

May 7: Defending Disability Insurance. With Kathy Ruffing, Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.