By Urban Media News
There’s much to be said about Wisconsin’s jobs crisis under Scott Walker. Since taking office in 2011, he’s driven our economy to dead last in job creation in the Midwest.
Last year was the worst year for job creation under the current governor, and the most credible and reliable jobs number forecast this year being even worse than the year before.
As Wisconsin struggles to get back to work, it’s struggling to pay off it’s student loans as well. With more than 750,000 residents still paying on a federal student loan, money that could be going into local economies around the state is going straight to banks and lenders.
Crushing debt loads are a problem for individuals simply trying to carve out a comfortable life in the middle class – and they’re major strain on our state’s economy. Instead of buying big-ticket items or supporting small businesses, households dole out hundreds of dollars each month in student loan payments.
Recent studies show Wisconsin residents who have already paid off their student loans are three times more likely to own a home and four times more likely to have bought a car in the last ten years.
The burden of crushing student loan debt puts graduates and students in the hole before they’re even able to get established.
The result is less participation in life milestones like buying cars, homes, or getting married.
With consumer spending already taking a hit in Wisconsin, putting more talented and capable Wisconsinites behind the eight ball, unable to participate in our economy only hurts the long-term health of the state.
Tuition only continues to climb in Wisconsin, doubling in the last twelve years alone, and the job market in Wisconsin is still struggling to recover.
It’s no secret that there aren’t enough jobs in Wisconsin which pay enough to comfortably afford the average monthly student loan bill – nearly $400 a month.
College aspirants and graduates alike understand the struggle of trying to pay off massive student loan debts in Scott Walker’s economy.
Students in Wisconsin haven’t gotten much help from the governor in his first term.
Walker has made draconian cuts to higher education over two budget cycles, significantly reducing state aid to the UW System.
In fact, for the first time in state history, the state’s budget allocates more taxpayer dollars for corrections than our world-class higher education system.
Walker allies will call the governor’s moves reform, but his decisions were merely sweeping cuts that handcuffed colleges and universities, forcing them to eliminate programs and increase tuition. Instead of a real solution, Gov. Walker proposed another short-sighted two-year tuition freeze in his 2015-17 state budget if re-elected in November.
A second two-year tuition freeze requires campuses, already cutting back severely due to a reduction in state aid, to scale back even more.
It’s not a real plan for college affordability, its an unsustainable way to fund our state’s higher education system, and it puts the promise of the American Dream out of reach for Wisconsin residents. Scott Walker has repeatedly rejected common-sense ideas for student loan reform here in Wisconsin.
Including the Higher Ed, Lower Debt bill which aimed to create a student loan refinancing authority to help current borrowers refinance their student loans.
The bill also sought to allow deductions of student loan payments from state tax filings, which would result in average savings of $172 – $392 annually.
Lower interest rates and more deductions mean more manageable debt loads, more money in the pockets of Wisconsinites – and more money spent in our state’s economy.
Higher Ed, Lower Debt would make a college education more attainable by providing detailed information to students before they enter their lending agreements, and offering loan counseling to encourage informed decision-making. Scott Walker’s obstruction only holds students and graduates back.
He stands in direct contrast to his rival Mary Burke, who understands more needs to be done make higher education affordable.
Her plan to turn Wisconsin around, “Invest for Success”, includes directives to make higher education more affordable and create incentives to retain college grads in Wisconsin – making our state a place graduates want to come to and stay.
Burke supports commonsense solutions like the Higher Ed, Lower Debt bill, essential parts to making college more affordable and giving Wisconsinites the opportunity they need to get ahead. Mary Burke gets it.
She knows in order for all of Wisconsin to be successful we need more roads to the middle class, not less.
Voters will reject Scott Walker and chose Mary Burke, a leader who will turn our state around and give everyone in Wisconsin a chance to succeed.
