More than half of the teens in America want the government and lenders to forgive loan debt held by student borrowers, according to a new survey conducted by the research consortium Engine for Junior Achievement.
51 percent of surveyed teens, ages 13-17, responded that all of the student debt currently held by Americans should be forgiven as they brace for enrolling in postsecondary institutions themselves.
The survey also found that 20 percent of the teens said student loan debt should not be forgiven, while 29 percent said that they “Don’t Know” or were “Not Sure.”
The consortium engine surveyed 1,0002 teens, consisting of 501 males and 501 females from December 18 through December 23, 2018.
Collective U.S. student loan debt topped $1.5 trillion in 2018, officially surpassing the debt levels of both credit cards and auto loans. It now claims second place for the highest debt category throughout the country, second only to mortgage debt.
“While there’s been much discussion in the news about debt-free college, counting on college debt being forgiven in the near future is probably not the best approach when it comes to planning for college today,” Jack Kosakowski, president and CEO of Junior Achievement USA, said.
“For many of us, college is the second largest expense we will have behind buying a house. It’s important that we equip our young people with the information necessary to make informed choices about paying for higher education,” he added.
A recent study conducted by Guardian financial wellness found that seven out of 10 working adults with student debt identify their finances as their major source of stress and most of them are also pessimistic about making good progress when it comes to paying off their debts.
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