Wednesday, Sept. 27 marked the one-year anniversary of Gov. Scott Walker advising Wisconsin borrowers to “call a bank” as his solution to the growing crisis of student loan debt. Walker’s advice and subsequent inaction on policies to help the state’s nearly one million student loan borrowers has hurt Wisconsin’s economy and left borrowers trapped in a system that treats them unfairly.
Student loan debt continues to grow in Wisconsin, and the student loan borrowers who worked hard to get their education and took on the personal responsibility to pay for it are still being treated unfairly by the system. Walker telling people to “call a bank” wasn’t a solution then, and it’s not a solution now.
The 2017 edition of the annual report from The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) found more than two-thirds—67%—of the class of 2016 graduates in Wisconsin left school with an average student loan debt of $30,059. Nationally, Wisconsin places sixth for percentage of graduates with debt and 17th for the average amount of debt. Earlier figures from the federal government indicated that there are nearly one million student loan borrowers in Wisconsin with an aggregate federal student loan debt of roughly $19 billion.
The impact of student debt in Wisconsin (and nationally) is devastating—not just on borrowers, but across the economy. Research conducted in state by One Wisconsin Institute found student loan borrowers were significantly more likely to rent rather than own their home and to drive a used instead of a new vehicle. National research has confirmed the Wisconsin results and also found student debt is not just preventing individuals from making major purchases that stimulate the economy, but also preventing graduates from saving for retirement or their own children’s education.
Recent surveys find that Wisconsin student loan borrowers and voters are watching their elected officials on the issue of student debt and are strongly supportive of real solutions to the growing crisis. A recent survey of student loan borrowers found that well more than half rated as “very important” or “important” a political candidate’s position on the issue of dealing with student debt.
Likewise, a public opinion poll commissioned by One Wisconsin Institute found broad and bipartisan support among registered voters in Wisconsin for the state stepping in to help borrowers refinance their student loans. The poll also found support lagging for Walker’s proposed “call a bank” solution to the student loan debt crisis.
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According to financial disclosures filed by Walker, even he has not taken his own advice. They indicate that he apparently has not yet called a bank and refinanced the more than $100,000 in student debt he reported being responsible for at an interest rate of more than 7%. Scott Walker hasn’t taken his own advice, and he hasn’t taken the opportunity to enact real reforms to help Wisconsin student loan borrowers. With Gov. Walker, it’s failure all around on the student loan debt crisis.
Analiese Eicher is the program and development director of One Wisconsin Now.
