David came to this country as a Dreamer at the age of 14 – crossing the border with his sister on his back, as they escaped political turmoil in their native Guatemala. David and his family settled in Southern California, where his mother worked as a janitor, and his father, a carpenter. He learned English in public schools, before earning scholarships to Stanford and Harvard law. As a young man, he came out to his family and friends, and he is now married to his husband of 20 years.
Student debt is crushing California. It doesn’t just hurt those who are in debt, it is hurting our entire economy and we must forgive it.
4 million Californians are burdened by student debt. They owe on average almost $40,000 and range from recent graduates, to parents trying to put food on the table to people nearing retirement who STILL are unable to pay off loans.
These student loan payments do not benefit Californians. Every dollar spent repaying student loans is siphoned away to predatory institutions far away when that dollar should go to paying for housing, providing for a child, or be spent locally on our small businesses.
College does not need to cost more than the average worker makes in a year and the exorbitant increases in college tuition are only allowed to continue because we have a system that allows 18 year olds to take on life-altering amounts of debt. This system punishes all but the wealthiest students, and thus worsens our state’s inequality.