Jo Raphael: Why New Zealand should consider wiping some student loans

Perhaps we can look at student loan forgiveness in New Zealand, writes Jo Raphael. Photo / NZME

OPINION

Debt can be a yoke or a minor irritant.

It depends on what you get into debt over.

House? Yes - a great investment, if you can achieve it.

Car? Fine - depends if you get a good deal on the interest rate.

Unnecessary impulse buys that become obsolete in a couple of years? No way.

I learned the hard way what I should and should not be getting into debt over - however, education was one thing I knew was a necessary evil.

I, like thousands of other young Kiwis, decided on a career and set about trying to achieve the goal. I chose my course, enrolled and applied for a student loan.

While there are some fee-free training and apprenticeships offered, universities and polytechnics require payment.

According to the Ministry of Social Development, between January and December of 2021, the total amount borrowed for course fees, course-related costs and living costs was $1,490,282,134.

During the same period, 82.2 per cent of borrowers borrowed to pay for course fees.

In 2008, students marched to Parliament protesting student loan debt reaching $10 billion. In 2022, the total is about $16 billion.

Education is expensive and having loans hanging over you can be overwhelming.

Owing thousands of dollars in student loans can affect decisions that are life-changing - including whether to have children, buy a house or even stay in New Zealand.

The Biden administration in the US announced last week it would forgive a portion (US$10,000 to US$20,000) of federal student loans.

This, of course, has caused both elation and outrage. The outrage is most notably coming from the right.

With the average college tuition costing about US$37,000 a year, for some people, this is a drop in the bucket.

Law or medical student loans can be more than US$100,000.

Cynics theorise that this debt forgiveness is being used as bribery for the Democrats because Republicans are expected to retake the House in November's mid-term elections.

Some commentators have said debt forgiveness will contribute to an already over-inflated economy.

But this has been refuted after Forbes reported last week that "Bank of America ... saying the estimated increase in the deficit over the next 10 years is of a similar magnitude to the estimated decrease from the Inflation Reduction Act (also only marginal), meaning the course of inflation would likely not be impacted".

Student loan forgiveness could also be considered by our government - it would go a long way to easing debt burdens and may even stimulate the economy.

And a more-focused look into the ballooning costs of tertiary education would be worthwhile too.