Here’s one way to pay off student loans

I must admit I’ve pretty much fed up with everything I’ve read and heard over the past several months. I’ve honestly lost count of how many times I caught myself rolling my eyes after reading all the news headlines, most of which seemed to promote a politically biased perspective on something that didn’t seem right.

It deals with the ongoing plans for the federal government wanting to continue stepping in and help college students pay off their student loans.

I’m sorry. What was it about signing that piece of paper these people didn’t understand? You know what I’m talking about. It’s that piece of paper they willingly signed that said they agreed to pay off the loan they took out versus having someone else do it for them.

My message to these college students is similar to the thoughts of many others in this nation.

Simply put, you signed that paper. You need to fulfill that contract or else. Period.

Granted, I know many students go to college with some type of financial support. Many of them qualified for scholarships that provided some financial help or took advantage of other programs that gave them other types of support to get them through those years of school.

It was this type of financial support that helped convince me to return to college seven years ago. Having served in the Air Force for 25 years before I retired in 2009, I qualified for the post-9/11 G.I. Bill.

Simply put, that program covered many of the expenses needed to complete my undergraduate requirements to earn my bachelor’s degree. In addition to covering the costs of every class I took, including my time as a student teacher, that federal program helped pay for the textbooks and supplies I needed.

As an added bonus, I received some money to help cover my housing expenses. In my case, it helped cover a portion of my monthly mortgage payments on the home where my family and I live.

At the same time, however, I knew I needed to keep a close eye on how much money I spent each month to ensure I stayed on budget and didn’t wind up going into debt. After all, even though I earned my certification as an elementary school teacher, there was no guarantee I would land a full-time teaching job in the Mountain Home area. That represented a tough lesson I learned the hard way once I graduated back in 2021.

But let’s return to the others out there wanting, and in some cases demanding, the federal government to help them out, especially those who ended up not landing a job related to their undergraduate studies.

The one thing they should’ve considered involved the number of jobs out there with direct ties to their college degree. To be honest, colleges and universities tend to offer a couple of degrees with very few, if any, potential jobs.

For example, how many jobs are out there for people majoring in gender studies? The last I checked, the only jobs I saw involved the professors teaching these classes. From my perspective, that degree seems like an awful waste of money.

Meanwhile, we have a lot of students out there who suddenly feel stunned when they see how much money they need to pay back after they graduate. Case in point: I remember one day when I overheard one of my college classmates saying she was already $150,000 in debt, and she still had at least two more years of classes to take before she graduated.

Here’s the one thing that really angers me with regards to those out there who feel someone else needs to pay their bills. It’s not the job of every American taxpayer to give these people money.

That responsibility falls into the hands of these college graduates. That includes many of them who waste way too much money by spending it on things they honestly don’t need.

Case in point: When I came to Boise State University to take classes held each morning, I drove from Mountain Home to the campus. It was definitely a lot cheaper for me to drive there versus trying to live on campus, especially since I already had a home to live in.

I’m sure the same is true for other students who could’ve done the same by living at their parents’ house and simply commuted to and from campus with their fellow classmates. That alone could’ve saved them quite a bit of money.

Then there were the countless times where I personally saw so many students wasting money on things they honestly didn’t need. Case in point: When I took classes that started during the early morning, I kept seeing so many students walk into the classrooms holding a $5 cup of coffee along with a $5 bagel they bought at shops in the Student Union Building on campus.

That alone was a huge waste of money since they could’ve easily bought a coffee maker before they started college and brewed their own coffee at home each day. Even better, they could’ve eaten breakfast at home or in their dorm room, which would’ve been a lot cheaper.

Meanwhile, I tended to bring along my own lunch on the days when I took classes that ran most of the day. I did my best to avoid having to order something at a restaurant since that tended to be even more expensive than the overpriced coffee and bagels my classmates spent money on every single day.

I don’t even want to know how many of these same students waste even more money going to the bars near each college and university campus and waste even more money partying with their friends every weekend.

Now don’t get me wrong. If a college student demands that someone else pay off something they should’ve done on their own, I have a simple solution.

We need to make these students sign a new piece of paperwork that makes it mandatory for them to enlist in the U.S. armed forces for a minimum of four, preferably eight, years or more.

After all, the U.S military continues to deal with a shortage of people, especially the U.S. Army. Recent reports show the Army came up 10,000 soldiers short of its goal of bringing in 65,000 new active-duty troops in previous years. In 2022, meanwhile, it came up 15,000 people short of its goal of adding 60,000 soldiers to its ranks.

Here’s how these college students can repay the debt they owe the citizens of this nation. These folks need to stand up and serve the nation instead of forcing others to pay off the bills these students voluntarily racked up on their own.

In addition to beefing up our nation’s security, I feel these students need to take their military paychecks and pay off their debt to society. Better yet, those who enlist would automatically have these payments taken from their paychecks to ensure they don’t squander that money.

If anything, the time spent in the U.S. armed forces would ensure today’s generation understand firsthand the sacrifices made by those who came before them, especially those who paid the ultimate price in defense of this nation and our allies. It would ensure these people understand why all of us need to stand united to deal with the threats posed by the rogue nations out there.

After all, it’s not my job to pay off someone else’s college loans.

It’s their responsibility. Deal with it.

— Brian S. Orban