With Donald Trump’s re-election campaign achieving victory on Nov. 6, questions for the outgoing administration come up. Student debt relief was a major aim for Joe Biden’s campaign, being both a rallying point and controversial move. According to the Federal Student Aid Office; individuals making less than $125,000 are eligible for up to $20,000 in debt relief. This was in an effort to take the burden of college debt off of low income families. According to the Congressional Research Service, one in six US adults has student debt which greatly affects the average person’s financial stability.
As this program is being run under the U.S. Department of Education. The Trump Administration’s plans for the department could have drastic effects on the support students could receive. According to a 2024 article by CNBC, Trump has made plans to decrease the U.S. Department of Education’s Budget by 10%, or $7.1 billion, under his administration. This won’t only affect its ability to give out aid, it will also affect the managing and funding of over 9,000 public schools across the country. These major cuts could be a disaster for the public education system and negatively impact tens of thousands of students.
To put that into perspective, $7.1 billion could pay for 355,000 students which could do wonders for those attempting to move up financially and academically in this system. The drop in financial support for students could lead to what is referred to as “brain drain”. Brain drain is when a large subsect of an educated population leaves an area, leading to a loss in university level jobs. The United States, according to a 2024 article by Hire Helper has a brain drain of 9%. This has only increased as prospects for education become cheaper in other nations. According to the Institute For Employment Research, the brain drain is significantly lower in California, while states like Idaho and Mississippi have a brain drain rate higher than 20%.
We can already see the effects of brain drain in India. As other nations have offered cheaper education and more pay for the work of IT specialists and doctors, India has seen major shortages in the fields of medicine, computer engineering, and education. In a 2022 study by Money Control: India has seen over 111,000 skilled workers give up their citizenship in 2021. This has not only led to economic struggles for various industries, it has also led to billions in tax revenue lost. We could see a similar issue happen to the U.S. in the coming years.
While the exact plans for the U.S. Department of Education isn’t known, based on what took place during Trump’s first presidency, we can expect similar plans to be made. In 2019, the Department of Education reported an increase in its grant budget, the overall budget decreased by $3.6 billion—or 5%. This was under the guise of decreasing the government’s role in education, yet this seemed more like a spending slash. An even greater cut during the upcoming presidency could see major programs being cut from the budget, including After-School Programs. Reports from Education Week estimating a total of 29 programs would be suspended.
In the end, what will be done in the name of freedom from government, will only restrict us from the opportunity of higher education.
This article is the second in a multi-part series.
