Should the federal government forgive student loan debt? The short answer is yes. While many people mistakenly put the blame on students, the current student loan debt crisis is the result of failed policies at both the state and federal levels.

Year after year, states spent fewer dollars on higher education, leading to astronomical increases in the cost of public college and shifting the burden of payment to students and their families. At the federal level, the Pell Grant, which is the primary source of non-loan financial aid for students from low-income backgrounds, currently covers less than 30% of the cost of attending a four-year public college or university. In the mid-1970s, during the program’s early years, it covered three-fourths of the average cost of attendance.