I am a first generation college student. I worry that other young people will not receive the financial support that makes my education possible.
by
President Trump did announced That he has “earned the ability.” In his State of the Union speech, he even bragged that he was “reducing spending on health care and everything else.”
In reality, the Trump administration is making it much harder for working families to meet their daily needs — And To fulfill their long term dream of higher education.
The Republican tax and spending plan passed last year — the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” — includes huge tax cuts to the wealthy, paid for with deep cuts to programs for working people. The Congressional Budget Office expects 7.5 million Americans lose their Medicaid insurance and 4 million Lose some or all of their SNAP food assistance benefits.
Cutting these public assistance programs will make it more difficult for working families to save for college. In fact, the same tax law also includes critical overhauls Federal Student Aid Program That would destroy many young people’s dreams of higher education — again, all to fund tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy.
This problem is not abstract to me. It’s personal. I am a first generation college student and now a doctoral student. My hard-working black family and my larger community poured everything they had into me because they believed — against every obstacle — that education could be my stepping stone.
Federal student aid programs like Pell Grants and the Grad Plus subsidized loan program helped me as I struggled up that ladder. It still wasn’t easy. I worked two part-time jobs and still barely made ends meet. But without that help, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Now, the aid program I depended on is under attack. Students are facing tighter borrowing limits and dramatically reduced repayment options, making it more difficult to get out of heavy debt. Under the new debt cap, the government plans to cut approx $44 billion in aid over the next 10 yearsAbout 25 percent to 40 percent affect graduate borrowers
Making matters worse, the Pell Grant program, which helps even more 6 million Low-income students pay annually for college, facing a potential deficit crisis. Unless Congress puts in new funding, the program’s deficit will skyrocket $11.5 billion in 2027And those donations may very well dry up.
Across the country, families who believed education was their way forward are feeling their dreams disappear. I’ve spoken with aspiring and current graduate students who are unsure whether staying in school is still an option. I’ve talked to borrowers who fear they’ll spend the rest of their lives crushed by student loans and parents who worry they won’t be able to send their kids to college.
President Trump didn’t even mention student aid in his State of the Union address. But this issue is central to the health of our union. As a nation we believe that working families deserve opportunity – or just survival. Whether we as a nation value the future of our young people – or only the future of billionaires.
Higher education was supposed to be the great equalizer. But if we continue to cut student aid, working families will see it as a hopeless fantasy or a lifetime debt sentence.
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Previously published with otherwords.org Creative Commons License
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