LinkedIn Professional Mocks Young People With Student Loans For Having Expensive Tattoos, Coffee & Cell Phones But Not Paying Off Their Debt
He basically thought young people should stop living their lives to pay off their loans.
Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock A lot of young people would argue that they’re doing the best they can in a tough situation right now. Facing a startling economy, a difficult job market and a student debt crisis isn’t easy.
Unfortunately, some boomers will always find themselves at odds with young people, no matter what they do.
A businessman on LinkedIn mocked young people for spending money on things like phones and coffee while not paying off their student loans.
Todd Siebels is a business owner and philanthropist who is quite active on LinkedIn. He recently made a post on the networking website that found its way onto the LinkedIn Lunatics subreddit on Reddit.
The post read, “The ‘I can’t pay off my student loan’ starter pack…” with a picture below it of a young person. Around different parts of the picture were captions, including “$400 designer threads,” “$60 haircut,” “$6 latte,” “$1,500 iPhone,” and “$2,000 fresh ink.”
The insinuation was clear. Young people don’t have difficulty paying off their student loans because they don’t have any money. They have difficulty paying them off because they spend their money on the wrong things.
But is how young people spend their money really the problem? Or does it run deeper than that?
The amount of student loan debt owed in the country has turned into a crisis.
Student debt numbers are rising swiftly. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, “As of September 2023, 43 million U.S. borrowers collectively owed more than $1.6 trillion in federal student loans. Adding private loans brings that amount above $1.7 trillion.”
Part of the reason for this steep increase in loan numbers is the rising cost of attending college. Inflation has touched every part of the economy, including education costs.
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Forbes said, “In 1980, the price to attend a four-year college full-time was $10,231 annually — including tuition, fees, room and board, and adjusted for inflation — according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By 2019-20, the total price increased to $28,775. That’s a 180% increase.”
In other words, attending college has more than doubled in the past 40 years. While college was never exactly inexpensive, costs have increased so astronomically that it has become necessary for students to take out loans to cover the costs of their education.
Thinking like Siebels’ is flawed.
It’s understandable that some people might think money is being spent on the wrong things when student loans exist. However, looking at the big picture shows that is not the case.
College education costs have more than doubled since someone Siebels’ age attended. However, a college education is becoming more necessary than ever for many professions. This leaves many with no choice other than to attend and take out loans.
The idea that someone should stop living while they pay off their loans is off base. Student loans have become a part of life. They are not the singular focus of it. It’s okay to put money towards other things as well. After all, isn’t the time after you graduate college also the time you’re supposed to establish yourself as a young professional, buy a home and have a family?
This idea was expressed in many of the comments left on Reddit.
“You shouldn’t live/drink coffee/go out/buy new clothes just to be able to pay for education,” one person said. “A bunch of Boomers showing off with their free education.”
“Dude walks into his place for an interview with a buzzcut and a $5 shirt … not hired,” someone else said.
Right now, a perfect solution for student loans doesn’t exist. And the answer is far from putting your entire life on hold when society demands that you continue to evolve as a person.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.