Equity Lab: OK Sac, let’s talk student loan debt + How to get tickets to THE summer festival
Like this newsletter? Forward it to a friend and help us get the word out. They can sign up here.
It’s Wednesday, July 14, 2021
A few years ago, I was a religious follower of the WNYC podcast “Death, Sex and Money.” And in 2017, they came out with a two-part series that felt like the show producers had chiseled a little window into my soul, shined a flashlight and said, “Yep, here’s all that Baggage!” It was on our student loan secrets.
I was talking with a friend over dinner at Canteen Alley this weekend when the conversation meandered to money and the way it so forcefully demands to impact our lives, and I was reminded of the episodes. The podcast featured lots of people, but the voice that’s seared into my brain is the one of a woman who ended her engagement after her fiancé said they shouldn’t start a family until she finished paying off her student loans.
I’ve been thinking more and more about student debt recently. Like a lot of Sacramentans, I have a sizable amount of student debt I was, until very recently, aggressively trying to pay off. And like many Americans, I took advantage of the pandemic-induced forbearance. Zero interest, no mandatory payments. In the last year, I was able to build up the largest emergency fund I’ve ever had — and then promptly use a bunch of it when sudden expensive medical bills came up. I’m eyeing September warily.
I asked on Twitter how other Sacramentans have felt these last few months. Specifically, what their debt load looks like now, how it’s altered what life decisions they can make, and what forbearance has allowed for. Many more people reached out than I expected.
Anohk told me he has $367,000 in debt post-medical school (a figure that is apparently pretty middle of the road for doctors, but is a very stressful number for me to look at). “Being able to save with payments being frozen allowed me to make house repairs, pay off credit card debt, and have a small savings,” he told me. He’s holding out for Public Service Loan Forgiveness in a few years.
Orville Thomas told me he has a high five-figure loan, accumulated after he went back to get a Master’s after making practically nothing as a reporter. During forbearance, he was able to finally pay off credit cards “that had been horrible.” He’s saved the most he’s ever in his life. He’s breathing easy as he plans his wedding. And he’s eager to hear if there will be any kind of student debt forgiveness from the Biden administration, and if so, how much — $10,000? $50,000?
“We just want to buy a house or not live every day with crippling fear that any accident will force us into economic ruin,” Thomas told me.
Across 14 student loans, Kirk racked up nearly $160,000 in debt after graduating from law school in 2012. Some of the loans had absolutely catastrophic interest rates, in the 8.5% range. He ended up not getting a job in law, and it took him years just to start making $75,000 annually. Even though he consistently made payments monthly, his outstanding balance in December 2018 ended up being more than what he originally borrowed — $235,017.
He now pays close to $1,500 a month towards his debt, though the monthly minimum required is a little over $630. “Paying $600 towards your loans only to see your balance increase by $700 a month is psychologically devastating,” he said. Forbearance has been a godsend.
Without student loans, he’d have bought a house and a dog ages ago. He doesn’t vacation as often as he’d like, or travel abroad. “I also find myself often waiting weeks or months to make ‘convenience’ purchases or entertainment purchases,” Kirk told me. He’s on track, maybe, to start looking for a house next year.
I asked if he’d have done things differently if he knew he wouldn’t ultimately end up in law. He said it’s a tough question. He doesn’t regret attending law school, but maybe he didn’t pay close enough attention to the way the interest rates would annihilate his repayment efforts.
“Maybe I’d have bought Bud Lights instead of craft beers,” he told me.
None of this is news to young, debt-burdened people in Sacramento, or frankly anywhere in the United States. But as the city and region’s housing market has exploded, the despair seems a little more palpable. The median home price in the region is now $575,000, more than 18% up from January. January. Nearly 60,000 Sacramentans can’t even afford their rent.
Thousands of people were sold the promise of higher education and instead saw debts to their name balloon while their credit score flat lined. They’ve pumped the breaks on marriages and vacations and children and homes and more. Knee-capped by three separate recessions, many feel a constant whelm of shame, guilt and paranoia as they get outbid by hedge funds on mediocre homes, struggle to balance their budgets, and wonder how everyone else seems to be managing to stay sane.
I went down a rabbit hole last night. Inspired by the Wall Street Journal story titled “‘Financially Hobbled for Life’: The Elite Master’s Degrees That Don’t Pay Off,” I attempted to evaluate the return on investment for colleges in Sacramento. I’ll single out Sac State, where many personal friends of mine attended, simply because it’s the largest in the city.
According to U.S. Department of Education data, the median debt a Sac State graduates leaves with is $15,320, which is less than the national median for public schools but still nothing to scoff at.
But the thing that was fascinating to me was this point: The median earnings for students who graduated 10 years ago is just under $49,000.
I don’t really have a conclusion for this part of the newsletter, other than to say if you want me to snoop into data for your school, email me at ayoon-hendricks@sacbee.com or DM me on Twitter @ayoonhendricks. Knowledge is power, and all that.
Here’s what else you need to know this week:
Must-Read Stories
CALIFORNIA HAS A NEW ‘STUDENT LOAN BILL OF RIGHTS’:
The law caps late fees on student loan debt and requires lenders to act in the best of interest of borrowers.
WIZKID, BURNA BOY HEADLINE FESTIVAL IN SACRAMENTO:
The international acts will perform October 2 and 3 at Cesar Chavez Plaza.
STUDENTS, PARENTS OUTRAGED AFTER SACRAMENTO TEACHER USES N-WORD IN CLASS:
Parents, students and community members are calling for the removal of a Sacramento City Unified School District teacher captured on an audio recording last month using racist slurs during online instruction.
More Interesting Reads
‘A must-see opportunity.’ Aerospace Museum hosts African Americans in Aviation exhibit | The Sacramento Bee
Guaranteed income in Sacramento: 100 families are receiving $300 no-strings payments | The Sacramento Bee
California’s community college system approves ethnic studies course requirement | The Sacramento Bee
Sacramento County COVID rates now among highest in California. Here’s who’s getting sick | The Sacramento Bee
The making and unmaking of the online left’s mayoral candidate | New York Magazine
A tragic death shows how ERs fail patients who struggle with addiction | NPR
Wildfires in the West are putting parched tribal lands in growing danger | NPR
What we’re reading (and you should, too!)
So I actually just picked up this book over the weekend when I was in San Francisco with my family. While we were waiting on our Serrano’s pizza, we walked into this store on Valencia that advertised indie art and literature.
I actually had no intention of buying anything, we were just hungry and stalling time.
Then I looked around the store. Nothing really caught my attention, except this book that had an animated drawing of Huey P. Newton in his iconic portrait sitting in a throne chair, wearing a black leather jacket while holding a shotgun in his right hand, and a spear in the left.
Below it, you could see an animated drawing of Fred Hampton and others.
What I saw was a graphic novel history of The Black Panther Party. It is written by award-winning comic book writer, filmmaker, journalist, and educator David F. Walker. The illustrations - which really caught my attention - were completed by Marcus Kwame Anderson.
I flipped through the pages and immediately became a fan of what I saw. It was like a comic series except educating the masses on the true stories of The Black Panther Party. Comic books traditionally tell the stories of superheroes, this one does that.
The names we are familiar with such as Stokely Carmichael, Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Eldridge Cleaver, or Angela Davis are listed in here. You will get a history lesson on them, and learn something you might not have known before. However, in my opinion, the best part is that after reading through, you will have learned about other members of the party. Great individuals that aren’t discussed, or rarely brought to light. Names like Bobby Hutton, Geronimo Pratt, Elaine Brown, Kathleen Cleaver, Tarika Lewis, and many more.
The comic book style makes me believe that this is intended to educate the youth on the truth that occurred in America. This novel tells the entire story. They include the rise and fall of The Black Panther Party, including The Sacramento Bee and other media coverage of the Black Panthers visiting the Capitol to J. Edgar Hoover sabotaging their existence.
I’m expecting to go through a whirlwind of emotion while I thoroughly enjoy reading this book. You should check it out yourself! You can go find it in the same store in San Francisco, or you can buy it on Amazon. Either way, get it for yourself or a young one.
Things to do
TONIGHT at 5 p.m., Ben Philippe (author of a book called “Sure, I’ll Be Your Black Friend: Notes from the Other Side of the Fist Bump”) will be in conversation with Billy Rutland at a Sacramento Library virtual event. Hear their thoughts over Zoom, register in advance here.
TICKETS go on sale this Friday for a new concert Lost in Riddim held at Cesar Chavez Plaza (downtown Sac) the weekend of Oct. 2 and 3. Headliners are Wizkid and Burna Boy; with it appears to be a special guest potentially?
TRASH is always unpleasant, but particularly when it’s in our parks. Sacramento Valley Spark is hosting a clean-up at Miller Park this Saturday in the morning. See details for how to get involved here.
Where to find us
❗ We want to hear from you! Please send us your story tips and thoughts to equitylab@sacbee.com.
➡️ You can also follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and like us on Facebook at @EquityLabSac.
Thank you for reading, and we will see you again next week!
Like this newsletter? Forward it to a friend and help us get the word out. They can sign up here.
This story was originally published July 14, 2021 at 12:58 PM.