Before reading the article:
Did you hear about the billionaire investor who shocked and delighted the 396 graduates of Morehouse College when he pledged to repay their student loans? Watch the video above to see what he says.
Then, make some guesses before reading further:
— What percentage of students at four-year colleges do you think has at least some student loan debt?
— What do you think is the average amount of debt each student owes?
— Do you think recent black graduates of four-year colleges owe more, or less, than their white peers? Why?
To find the answers to these questions, check out this Q&A. What, if anything, surprises you?
Now, read the article, “A Pledge to Pay Morehouse College Students’ Debt Prompts Elation, Envy and a Host of Questions,” and answer the following questions:
1. What questions has Robert F. Smith’s announcement raised?
2. Myles Washington, a graduating senior whose debts are expected to be paid, says, “I felt a level of survivor’s guilt.” Why?
3. How, according to some quoted here, might steep student loan debt impact this generation of students? How might these debts also impact future generations?
4. How many full-time, first-time students finish their undergraduate studies at Morehouse within six years? What economic benefit does completing some college have?
5. Morehouse is now working to calculate the student loan debt, and other details of the gift, and will reveal the final figure soon. But make a guess: About how much student loan debt would you guess these 396 students have altogether?
Finally, tell us more about what you think:
— In “A $40 Million Experiment,” Op-Ed columnist David Leonhardt quotes Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez about what this gift might mean to economists who study and design debt-forgiveness programs.
“This could be the start of what’s known in Econ as a ‘natural experiment,’” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Sunday, referring to the announcement that a billionaire would wipe out the student debt of every graduating senior at Morehouse College this year. “Follow these students & compare their life choices [with] their peers over the next 10-15 years.”
What are your predictions? Will these 396 graduates achieve more than they would have if they were saddled with debt? Will they “pay this forward” by giving to others, as Mr. Smith says he hopes they will do? Do you think some will choose careers they might not have been able to afford — for example, as artists, teachers or social workers — if they had huge debts to pay off? Why or why not?
— The Times Editorial Board says that if we are applauding the “gift” of an affordable education, “something has gone wrong.” Do you agree with them that “equitable taxation,” which would close the loophole that allowed Mr. Smith and financiers like him to become billionaires in the first place, is a better solution?