Issue Position: Making College Affordable and Taking on Student Debt

Issue Position

Within the last ten years, total student debt in our economy has more than doubled and now exceeds $1.2 trillion. Nationally, nearly 7 out of every 10 new graduates of four-year colleges are in debt, and these indebted graduates carry an average balance of nearly $30,000. New Jersey's class of 2015 graduated with an average of almost $19,000 in debt. Student debt has surpassed credit card debt, car loan debt, and home equity lines of credit to be the second largest source of consumer debt.

And this is not just an issue for borrowers: It is holding our economy back. This debt prevents people from forming families, buying homes, and starting small businesses. It sends the wrong signal to future students whom we need to complete college to drive economic growth.

Right now we cannot look to the federal government to tackle the reform of the back breaking educational costs in this country. We need our state representatives to do what we can at the state level.

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