Sen. Warren is Fighting for Students (Not banks)

   This graphic perfectly illustrates the current state of congressional representation in this country. According to opensecrets.org, so far this year the financial sector has spent $119,083,313 lobbying congress. This is the second most out of any sector in our economy (OpenSecrets.org, 2013).

   In this country student loan debt is skyrocketing. Last year it reached the $1 trillion dollar threshold nationwide and is continuing to grow at a rapid pace (Chopra, 2013, para. 3). This amount of debt certainly does not help with our currently fragile economic recovery, and even worse it could hurt our growth prospects long term. The idea that the majority of college students will lose a portion of their income after they graduate is new. Even worse with the current laws even bankruptcy won't reduce the burden of student loans. This is uncharted territory for our economic system and could produce unforeseen consequences. For example, it has been noted that the housing market has been hurt by student loans, because if a student is already in $100,000 plus of debt they are going to be quite reluctant to get a mortgage.

   Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat from Massachusetts just announced her first bill since being elected last year. It's called the Bank on Student Loan Fairness act of 2013. It aims to, "To prevent the doubling of the interest rate for Federal subsidized student loans for the 2013-2014 academic year", as well it wants to, "ensure that such loans are available at interest rates that are equivalent to the interest rates at which the Federal Government provides loans to banks through the discount window operated by the Federal Reserve System". This essentially would allow students to get loans at the same interest rate that any bank could, thus eliminating the unfair access to capital that banks have. 

   This bill would be a necessary step in the direction of lessening the burden of student loan debt on students. As a student myself this is a subject that hits close to home, and I praise Sen. Warren for being on the side of her constituents.

  

Works Cited

Bank on Student Loan Fairness act of 2013, 113th Cong., 1st Sess. (2013)

Chopra, R. (2013, May 8). Excessive Student Loan Debt Drains Economic Engine. Retrieved from Politico's website: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/excessive-student-loan-debt-drains-economic-engine-91083.html 

OpenSecrets.org. (2013, May 10). Ranked Sectors. Retrieved from http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?showYear=2013&indexType=c