This Is Why Politicians Aren’t Doing Anything About the Student Loan Debt Crisis

When you look at the numbers, it’s clear that we’re in a student loan crisis. The student loan debt statistics show that 44 million borrowers owe $1.5 trillion with $97 billion of that amount in default. The news headlines of borrowers in distress are rampant, and there are many concerns about student loans with the upcoming 2020 election.

So, why does it feel like politicians aren’t doing anything about student loans? Or as many borrowers might feel, why aren’t they doing enough to change the course of student debt? As it turns out, borrowers don’t care about student loan reform as much as you think and they are apathetic and disillusioned about the possibility of change.

Student loan debt isn’t the top priority for voters

Though student loans are a pervasive problem for many voters, there are other issues that are of concern to them as well. In our election survey geared toward student loan borrowers, we found that student loan debt isn’t the most important issue to them. It’s not even the second most important issue to them, either.

Our data shows that student loan debt is placed as the third most important issue for the majority of borrowers (32%). Twenty-five percent of respondents said it’s the second most important issue to them when voting, while only 15% said it was the most important issue.

Even more shocking is that nearly one in four (24%) respondents stated that student loan debt was the fourth most important issue or lower importance.

High-debt borrowers feel the same way

Our data illustrates that while student loans are an important concern for voters, loan debt is far from the top concern. This remains true even for borrowers with extremely large amounts of debt.

Three in five high-debt borrowers don’t place student loans in the top two issues for them as a voter. For student loan borrowers who owe over $400,000 — nearly half a million dollars — student loan debt is the third most important issue as a voter for 30% of respondents.

The remaining responses from high-debt borrowers are as follows:

• Student loans are the second most important issue (26%).
• Student loans are the most important issue (22%).
• Student loans are the fourth most important issue or less (19%).
• Student loans aren’t important at all (3%).

Compared to the general data around student loan importance, these numbers are very similar. For high-debt borrowers, we see a 7% increase from 15% to 22% of borrowers placing student loan debt as the top issue for them as a voter. But for placing it as the second or third most important issue, the numbers are nearly identical.

So if student loan borrowers don’t consider student loan debt as the top priority, what is their top priority, exactly?

Here’s why student loan debt isn’t the No. 1 priority

Student loan borrowers have other worries that also affect their livelihood, health and finances. Though student loans have a major impact on a borrower’s finances, there are more salient issues that are pressing and more of a concern. Below, we dive into the issues that are really concerning borrowers.

1. Borrowers care more about broader issues

Some respondents noted that healthcare and climate change were top concerns with the upcoming election.

As healthcare costs continue to rise, borrowers want to know they can afford to get care. Data from the American Public Health Association found that two-thirds (66.5%) of bankruptcies were related to medical costs. Though student loan debt is tough to manage, it’s healthcare costs that frequently lead to bankruptcy.

According to the Cause and Social Influence Report “Influencing Young America to Act 2019,” the top concern for millennials and Gen Z is climate change. Considering that climate change can have sweeping effects on healthcare, housing, livability and more, that makes sense.

Data from the same report shows that the top five social issues that are of concern for millennials and Gen Z in 2019 are:

1. Climate change (30%)
2. Civil rights/racial discrimination (25%)
3. Immigration (21%)
4. Healthcare reform (20%)
5. Mental health/social services (16%)

Student loan debt significantly impacts borrowers’ personal finances, but when it comes to voting, there are much larger issues taking priority.

2. Borrowers are apathetic

On top of voters having much bigger issues to worry about than student loan debt, borrowers are anxious but also apathetic when it comes to student loan reform.

Our study revealed that 68% of respondents are anxious about what the election will mean for student loan rules and reform. This anxiety might be rooted in the fear that politicians will stick with the status quo.

When asked about their biggest fears regarding candidates’ student loan plans, 34% of respondents said they fear nothing will change. Borrowers worry that politicians could be all talk and no action, resulting in no change or improvement.

The second biggest fear for borrowers is the elimination of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (27%). Some respondents fear that the student loan bubble will continue, without the underlying issues being addressed.

One respondent said they were scared “that no one will address the root causes of student loans — schools not having caps on tuition that will make this cycle continue.”

Current student loan programs still offer hope

The fact is that, currently, federal student loan borrowers can access a number of student loan forgiveness programs, such as:

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness
• Income-Driven Repayment (if there’s a remaining balance at the end of the repayment term)
• Teacher Loan Forgiveness
• Disability Discharge

The road may not be easy, but student loan forgiveness is still possible. Additionally, there are numerous repayment options to make payments more borrower-friendly. Perhaps if these repayment and forgiveness options were taken off the table or made even worse, voters might rank student loans as a top concern.

Despite the general dissatisfaction around student loan debt, other top issues eclipse it as a major concern. If student debt isn’t a top priority to voters, politicians have less incentive to make any formidable changes to student loan policy.