This is what paying it forward is about!
Via CNN:
Billionaire investor Robert F. Smith’s commitment to pay off the student loan debt for graduates of the historically black Morehouse College covers millions of dollars, the school said.
“When you have to service debt, the choices about what you can go do in the world are constrained,” Morehouse President David A. Thomas said Sunday. “(Smith’s gift) gives them the liberty to follow their dreams, their passions.” Thomas told CNN on Monday that the exact amount of student loan debt to be covered was still being calculated.
Smith’s gesture, which Thomas called “a liberation gift,” will enable graduates to have more capital to do things like start businesses and support their families.
Studies show disparities in the amount of student debt African-American borrowers amass compared to their white counterparts.
Here are some reasons why Smith’s pledge matters:
Millions of Americans struggle with student debt
According to recent Federal Reserve data, Americans owe $1.5 trillion in student loans. Outstanding student loan debt exceeds auto loan debt ($1.1 trillion) and credit card debt ($977 billion). The issue of a free college has emerged as a key topic on the 2020 campaign trail. Several candidates have expressed support for making sure students can graduate without debt. One candidate, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, has proposed eliminating debt for tens of millions of Americans and making all public colleges tuition-free in an ambitious stance.
Morehouse graduate Jonathan Epps, 22, said he has $35,000 in student debt. Elijah Nesly Dormeus, who is the first of nine kids to graduate college, said he had $90,000 in debt.
