MLA format!!!!! Please finish it on time.

Running head: TOULMIN ARGUMENT PAPER 1

TOULMIN ARGUMENT PAPER 6

Toulmin Argument Paper

Huayou Tu

Instructor Danielle Schleicher

ENGL 112

7 March 2016

Toulmin Argument Paper

Introduction

Student loans are a form of financial aid given to the vast majority of American college students. The loans are supposed to help them cover the costs of their higher education. Over 60% of college students borrow annually to help them finance their studies. In the last decade, the student loan has ballooned to more than $1.2 trillion in outstanding arrears. There are more than 40 million borrowers across the country with an average balance of $29,000 for each of these borrowers.

It is clear from the background information given; the country is headed into a student loan financial crisis. The economic implications of such a huge debt by millions of Americans are significant to the country’s current and future economic outlook. More significant is the impact that the growing debt has on students today. The ballooning of this debt has severe negative social and economic consequences for college graduates. The consequences of the debt will be felt for generations to come unless preemptive measures are put in place to curb the growing student debt levels in the country.

Evidence

There is profound evidence that the growing student loan debt is heading for a crisis with social and economic consequences for the students and the country at large. Many borrowers might not run into problems repaying their debt. However, the mere existence of the debt can have a profound impact in the lifestyle choices that student borrowers make.

The American Student Assistance carried out a survey to investigate the impacts of the debt on the lives of the student borrowers. According to ASA (2013), 27% of the respondents to the survey found it difficult to purchase daily necessities due to their student loans. 63% of the respondents said that their debt significantly affected their ability to make large purchases such as cars. 73% have put off saving for retirement or making investments because of their loans. 75% of those surveyed claimed that the loan significantly hampered their ability to purchase homes.

Other than hampering their ability to make large purchases, ASA (2013) found that the student loan also negatively impacted on their life choices. 30% of the respondents said that the debt was the deciding factor in their career choices. 47% commented that it had a considerable impact on their decision or ability to start a business. 29% suggested that they had put off marriage in order to finish paying off their debt. 43% of those interviewed intimated that their student debts had made them postpone starting a family.

Warrant

From the data collected from the survey conducted, the student debt is definitely a crisis for the current and future generations. The economy of the country relies heavily on the spending power of the youth. They are the majority in the country and if their purchasing power is constrained, the entire economy has the potential to unravel.

Owning a home used to be a key indicator of one’s upward mobility, financial stability, and maturity. However, homeownership has plummeted amongst individuals under the age of 35. In the 1970s and 1980s, most people between the age of 30 and 35 had purchased their first homes. In 2005, homeownership in this age bracket was at 43.3%. In 2015, the homeownership in the same age bracket was 34.6% (Holland, 2015).

According to Rothstein and Rouse (2011), majority of the student borrowers will opt for high paying jobs because of their debt. Their debts force them into careers they may have not chosen if they were not saddled by crippling debt. The result is that most of these student borrowers will move to the private sector. Currently, there are millions of student borrowers across the country. If even an eighth of them move to the private sector, the employment in the public sector will be severely diminished.

.

Backing

Homeownership has declined amongst student borrowers because of low credit scores. According to Holland (2015), mortgage lenders usually look at an individual’s debt obligations in totality. A student loan is part of an individual’s debt obligation. Thus, most mortgage lenders are hesitant to loan out money to the student borrowers.

Researchers have also found a causal link between the decline in innovation and entrepreneurship to student debt. Student borrowers are more likely to look for work than open their own businesses because of the debt. Furthermore, life choices are being postponed because of the financial hardships that student borrowers are going through. Majority of these individuals would rather wait to reduce their debt before they settle down, get married and starting families. The student borrowers are not ready to take on more financial obligations due to their debt.

The burden of debt is also steering individuals away from low paying but critical jobs such as health care and social work. According to Rothstein and Rouse (2011), the student borrowers would rather go for jobs that are high paying like those found in the financial and technology sectors. Professions such as health care and social work are ignored because they have low salaries. Lack of labor in such critical professions can result in negative social implications especially for the disenfranchised and at-risk individuals.

Counterclaim

Some academicians believe that the public is blowing things out of proportion when it comes to the student debt crisis. Many of these academicians do not believe that there is a looming student debt financial crisis. For instance, Akers and Chingos (2014) do not acknowledge the presence of an economic and social crisis owing to the rise in student debt. They argue that the rise in student debt is because majority of Americans now realize the importance of higher education.

They also argue that the increase in student debt in the country is at par with the increase in the average lifetime incomes of college educated Americans. The authors mean that increase in debt is moving at the same pace as the increase in average lifetime incomes. Thirdly, the authors argue that there could not be a crisis because the monthly payment on these loans has remained constant for more than two decades.

Rebuttal

There is no refuting that higher education is a potentially lucrative investment. However, research shows that the increase in debt is as a direct result of increase in college tuition rather than an increase in America’s appreciation of higher education. The tuition costs for college education have skyrocketed in the last decade alone. The situation has made students to borrow even more money to finance their studies. Additionally, the interest rates on these loans are still increasing sharply.

Secondly, there is insurmountable evidence that the average lifetime incomes of college educated Americans are not on the increase. If they were on the increase then the debt repayment ratio will be high. In addition, most people would have paid off their debts in their 30s or early 40s. However, the country is seeing more and more student borrowers entering their retirement ages without having completely paid off their debts (Shen & Ziderman, 2009).

Works Cited

Akers, B. & Chingos, M. (2014, Jun 24). Is a student loan crisis on the horizon? Brookings. Retrieved on 6/3/2016 from http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2014/06/24-student-loan-crisis-akers-chingos

American Student Assistance (2013). Life Delayed: The Impact of Student Debt on the Daily Lives of Young Americans. Retrieved on 6/3/2016 from http://www.asa.org/site/assets/files/3793/life_delayed.pdf

Holland, K. (2015, Jun 15). The high economic and social costs of student loan debt. CNBC. Retrieved on 6/3/2016 from http://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/15/the-high-economic-and-social-costs-of-student-loan-debt.html

Rothstein, J., & Rouse, C. (2011). Constrained after college: Student loans and early-career occupational choices. Journal of Public Economics, 149-163.

Shen, H., & Ziderman, A. (2009). Student loans repayment and recovery: International comparisons. Higher Education 57 (3): 315-333.