1. United States
2. Ark.
3. Letter

The Department of Education stands poised to garnish wages of citizens who have defaulted on predatory student loans, a radical shift of position from discussions of forgiveness. Student loans are incredibly damaging, with many students paying three or four times their original loan back due to sky-high interest. And, of course, many of these loans were signed to newly-minted 18 year olds. A four-year degree has become as necessary to holding a career in our culture now as a high school diploma was 30 years ago; many young citizens are put in a position where they feel they have no choice but to take on the burden of loans in order to find job security. In this tumultuous time, especially as the economy tailspins and wages stagnate, this job security is no longer a guarantee. Garnishing wages instead of forgiving loans will only serve to further weaken spending and accelerate a looming recession. Pass measures to protect those with student loans from aggressive collections, and consider moving forward with forgiving those loans.