Ricky Park worked in a series of restaurants in Austin, Texas, before he enrolled in culinary school with the hopes of someday resembling the kitchen celebrities that people often idolize on television like Emeril Lagasse. With the arrival of his degree he began working in a bistro for $10.50 an hour. The dream of being a top chef deteriorated, while his student loan bills did not. He not only regularly dodged bill collectors’ phone calls, but he solicited his own mother to help him make the $705 loan payments every month (Severson 1). Circumstances were not any easier for Joe Palazzolo, who left Rutgers with a master’s degree and loan payments more than $116,000. His monthly payments average around $95 more than Park’s, despite the fact that Rutgers covered his final year of tuition due his excellent grades. This problem seems to be an increasing trend across the country. In 2004, a non-profit advocacy group called Project on Student Debt found that eight percent of graduating seniors have a loan deficit of at least $40,000. Rise in tuition has begun making it difficult or near to impossible for lower and middle class families to send their children to college in order to compete in today’s college-educated career race. For example, people with specific goals of acquiring a career in social work, could be among the 37 to 55 percent who graduate with heaps of unruly debt. Depending on the career, loans can be anywhere from tens of thousands of dollars to as high as what Palazzolo must face on a regular basis. Emily Weinberg graduated from Ithaca College with a student loan debt surpassing $130,000. She now sends $1,200 of her $2,100 of her take-home pay to mend loan stress every month. People go to college to make life simpler and less complicated in the future; however, after graduation for many, life does not get easier (Block 1). So what can be done about it?

            The causes for why people face such costly debt relief are apt to be any given number of things. Firstly, maybe it is the decrease in cash availability for scholarly aid, as President George W. Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act in February 2006, which cut $12 billion in federal student aid money (Schechter 2). Secondly, when the rise in tuition continues across the country, so does the interest in private self-interested loan firms, which participate in an $85 billion industry (Vance 1). Thirdly, the pressure for students to obtain advanced degrees requires more time in school, and subsequently, more money (Block 1). Who should students turn to for help when they are in need? Student loan debt among college graduates is an obvious problem. Few people would debate that fact. Though the situation covers great amounts of detail and might seem too broad or general, it is important to implement one solution that helps the already graduated students, flailing in debt. They are the necessary focus. Remedies with intentions of repairing, say, the rising tuition increase, would do little to assist those who are already struggling. What can protect them? What could take the weight off of their shoulders as they juggle heavy bills and new careers? The same solution that could lower tuition to make the payment problem vanish decades from now is not immediate enough to do any real good. It is apparent that sooner is better. Solutions in general could be anything from loan forgiveness benefits to further loan payment protection laws.

            In August 2007, the published Kelly Fields came out with an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education entitled “Education Department’s Oversight of Lenders Has Been Lax, Report Says,” that revealed the United States Education Department’s failure in neglecting to properly oversee the student loan industry. It was said that “the department has done little to identify instances in which colleges and lenders may have violated federal…protection laws” (Fields 1). A good example of what fairly resembles this set of college lender laws is the set of laws that protect hospital or medical patients in the United States. There are a few basic laws that protect subscribers, so they can receive money from these apparent federal lenders. Many students entering college are loaned tuition from a federal government firm, and in quite a few of these cases, people are harassed to make payments and often fall further in debt when initial amounts are not sufficiently or completely paid. This unfortunate situation should come as no surprise as federal lenders and individual loan sharks target college students who have yet to sufficiently manage money (Schechter 1). From the comparable example, the laws protecting medical patients assure them “the immediate and ongoing care and rehabilitation” (AHA).  Likewise students should be guaranteed the ability to pay without coercion. Just like these medical patient protection laws, students ought to be allowed to make payments in steady increments at their own pace. The protection laws for students would not only include prevention from harassment, it would also include the ability to choose a pace to pay off loans, even if that pace is slow.  Working class people should not be subject to frequent phone calls, nagging them to make dues as Ricky Park is. They should not have to withstand the fall into further debt when making due is impossible with their current salary. Hospital organizations have been protecting the pace of payment and making sure that insurance companies receive the required money for years (AHA). Why not the same for this tuition coverage industry?

            The first step in making it out of college is finding a career that could have anyone living a happy life. Whether that life is both happy and debt free could be up to the employers that hire these college graduates. It is a simple fact in order to be hired by a high-paying job, or even a job in the field of choice, it has become necessary for people to get an education. Employers and corporations ought to understand this. There are a multitude of disadvantages to having to seek a higher paying job so quickly. People are less likely to have time open for non-profit participation or specific interest groups. Subsequently, these jobs frequently leave workers in the same position for years, leaving little room for raises and certified development (Schechter 2). In rare cases, once a newly hired employee joins a team, they are often given options which could include another degree paid for by the industry they work in because it boosts the credibility of that specific company. Yet, instead of another degree which might waste valuable professional time, a wise solution that would do some good for employees and employers alike would be for one of the benefits workers receive include paid debt relief. It could be for a variety of reasons that employees receive this type of benefit. Whether or not it simply is a benefit such as dental and health insurance, some salary could come with alleviation of debt. This means that an employer would either help or completely pay for college student loan debt. It does not necessarily mean that that those in debt get out of trouble for good, because there is no guarantee every corporation can afford multiple student loans.

An alternative meaning to benefit is incentive, in which debt alleviation is a reward. A very plausible example would be participation in a non-profit effort of organization. This type of activity, as mentioned, leaves a good impression and brings favorable publicity to a general company. So if an employee who is falling behind with a few student loan bills does this basic good, they deserve this type of benefit. In 2006, Occupational Hazards released ten business names chosen to receive an America's Safest Companies award. All of those companies understood the importance of making additional efforts for safety of productivity and its employees. Much of the so-called safety precautions required show up in the form of the benefits they receive that ensures that their ultimate productivity continues (“America's Safest Companies 'Get' Safety's Benefits”). If a company could include alleviation among their offered benefits, specifically as an incentive, it would further guarantee ultimate productivity efforts. If a college graduate struggling with old tuition loan debt regularly made an effort to step outside themselves and work for charity from time to time, they could literally make up for what they have not paid for. Volunteering every once in a blue moon is far better than working overtime, picking up another job, or collecting money from parents and other family members.

            College graduates like Ricky Park, Emily Weinberg, and Joe Palazzolo, could rest easier if at least one solution were initiated. It would mean escape from the past that continues to nag them in the form of countless phone calls and endless slopes of debt collection. They would never have to again deal with, at least not wholly on their own, the loan sharks that target them for an easy buck with outrageous interest rates and high monthly costs. If the world of corporate productivity assurance might step up with fee diminishment benefits and the federal government also, with enforcement of existing protection laws and an increase of more similar to those that protect medical patients, the cause for a deserved college education could someday return. If society makes it necessary to have as high an education as possible, then such academics should not be so difficult to cope with, especially once a person leaves their choice university. A well educated America makes for a proficiently working America, at all levels of class. Theoretically, all of these solutions could be implemented and together do well. However, which solution would be the most efficient process and have the most successful results? Which individual idea would at least give a hopeful attempt at solving this issue? In a statement used in “A Student Crisis” it is said that “of all the industries under attack on Capitol Hill — and there are plenty of them — the business of providing student loans is perhaps the most threatened” (Schechter 2). It needs to be an efficient and memorable solution, so at pass or fail this situation makes  history, leaving the thousands struggling debt-free and happy.

            The best solution really is the one that benefits everyone in some shape or form, which is the incentive program that would reward college graduates for non-profit work. Once hired, employees of a company would reveal exactly how indebt they are. The options for how much incentives are provided to how much community related hours are served would vary. Many companies evaluate the performance of their employees, so if a specific worker were volunteering to receive a partial debt relief payment, then logged hours would be included in their evaluation and they would receive the according amounts of money. The average extreme for graduates is a monthly student loan bill of about $800 (Block 1). For every eight hours of qualified service a month, and with some sort of written proof, a worker would have about 20 percent of the bill paid. The cases that are not as extreme as $800 would not even have to work as many as eight hours. 20 percent of $800 is $120, which is about $15 an hour for eight hours every month. Obviously, the employee evaluations ought to be once a month so that they receive the incentive on time. In a much less imperative case, a graduate might pay something around $400 a month. For this their 20 percent would be $80, which would be about four to five community service hours. This might seem like a waste of money for a company to spend, but it actually benefits them too. Employees who volunteer and are pronounced workers from an employer would again, bring good publicity, and ultimately increase business. So the problem is not that employers do not have the money to make this incentive program work.

            A small problem is how this plan could be initiated, and who would actually put it into action. In the same way that organizations join together to sort out credited awards and deciding who gets them, an organization of companies or leaders of an industry could gather to assess the situation. Sort of how a Parent, Teacher, Student conference meets and decides things like dress code and sanctions for internet safety, each major corporation could elect or offer a representative to this type of group. If a person volunteered to represent their business, they could even receive service hours for loan payments! This committee, of course broken into branches and sublets, would decide the terms and set regulations. The 20 percent covered for every $15 earned in one hour is an example of something they would regulate. They would develop protection rights so that company volunteers are not cheated from the money they make towards their past loans. Also, these exploratory type committees would issue an evaluation form for all companies that could obtain free membership. These forms would, yes, include performance evaluation check points, but they would also make sure everyone is being evaluated the same in terms of their hours. An error might be spotted in funding regular meetings of an organization as this. It would be non-profit, and its occupants, even its leaders, would be working technically for free. The locations the meet and any events they might hold to spread awareness of the loan problem could be financed by donations and sponsors.

It overall is a great solution because almost every other problem, right down to protection from loan insurance harassment, could disappear. Extending a solution like incentives and determining how they are issued would mean effectively terminating post graduation stress. With the exception of a few extra hours a month to volunteer, college graduates could live the life they hoped for. In the end, it is a simple solution for a monster problem. 20 percent might not seem like a lot, but in a monthly bill, many graduates could better handle $680 over $800. No other aggressive solution has even really been fathomed that does not attempt to target the root of the problem. It is important to understand that if the current people who are struggling with student loans are not helped, it is impossible to assist those in the future. If this plan were to work, it would leave promise for things such as lowering tuition, slashing federal loan interest rates, and eventually increasing the amount of federal aid. The apparent focus of Americans now should be the future of debt relief, one step at a time as a plan as this moves forward.