This graduation season, debt relief still feels out of reach for young borrowers

By CANDACE MILNER (OtherWords.org) – College is expensive – and for most Americans, higher education is still largely unaffordable. The cost of college continues to rise at rates that salaries and income aren’t keeping up with. This is especially true for low-income and working-class students who must depend on alternative ways to fund their education like grants, scholarships and – most notoriously – loans. Related Stories Students and their parents depend on loans to access college and the economic mobility that comes with it. According to an Urban Institute study, 70% of students who get a bachelor’s degree incur student loan debt by graduation. Students whose families already have less wealth, including students of color, are especially impacted. And Black women, who struggle to overcome wage gaps at every education level, are more burdened by student loan debt than any other demographic. First-generation students have a harder time repaying student loans because they have more debt and fewer safety nets in place after college. Additionally, the parents in many low- and middle-income families take out loans to cover the education of their children, creating intergenerational student debt burdens. During his campaign, President Joe Biden promised to bring Americans relief through...