Student loans are a form of financial aid that must be repaid, opposed to other forms of financial aid, such as scholarships and grants. Student loans have played a very large role in our nation’s higher education as well as our previous economic recession because the debt burden is not only affecting a grand majority of Americans, but those who are in debt owe more than ever before and cannot compensate for the money they “borrowed.” The U.S. Census shows that 20 million Americans attend college every year, and of those 20 million, close to 12 million, or about 60%, borrow annually to help cover costs. Ever since our days of the Cold War, student loan debt has soared to $1.2 trillion. In contrast with the rest of the world, most U.S. colleges are funded by students and their families, the public institutions are funded partially through state and municipal taxation and, on occasion, through additional donations from benefactors and alumni. To guarantee that Americans will be able to afford their student loan payments, the government put into action the Health Care and Education…show more content… The idea that future generations, even our own peers, will be denied the ability to attend college merely because they lack the resources is depressing. To believe that some Americans are unable to pursue the education they long for and need is to go against the morals of the American dream. By knowing that the next “bubble burst” in our economy could be student loans, since a large aggregate of individuals cannot repay their debts, the government should establish a deficit-neutral bill that would freeze interest rates for a couple of years and allow our country’s people to have time to adjust. The problem that arises from simply lowering the interest rates for federal student loans is that although it is great news that the default rate decreased from last year, it is still