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The Way I See It Larry Thornton The News That Matters Host
STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS
When I graduated from high school in 1965, I knew I wanted to go to college. My parents both had only a 10th-grade education. I wanted to be the first in my family to continue my education past the high school level. Dad was a steelworker and Mom stayed at home to raise my sister and me. We weren’t exactly poor but we had no luxuries. We did, however, have everything we “needed”.
Today, I tell people I went to Fairmont State College to play tennis (true) and that I was lucky enough to get a wife and an education at the same time. My parents were able to pay my tuition and dormitory costs while I paid for books and fees by working in the summer. To eat, I washed dishes in the college cafeteria. My wife’s parents were in the same situation. Our parents did without so we could get an education.
When our children were born in 1972 and 1978, we started college savings accounts. We also encouraged their grandparents to give each child a savings bond at Christmas and on birthdays. When they went off to college, we had a nice amount saved. We paid for most costs from these accounts for the first three years. Our bargain with them was, “you work hard and make good grades and you will leave college debt free”. They did. However, we did sacrifice for about 10 years, never taking a vacation or making any large purchases for ourselves. We were willing to do without like our parents did, so our children could get a quality education.
This year, in a vote-buying scheme, the President signed an executive order forgiving $10,000 of student loans still outstanding. Some qualified for a $20,000 forgiveness. This is a questionable need for college graduates who now have enough earning power to pay their loans themselves. They won’t do that because they want the biggest house and fastest car the first year out of college. The word sacrifice is not in their expensive vocabulary.
A recent study showed that a large percentage of these loan forgiveness recipients are doctors, lawyers, accountants, and other highly paid professionals. Surely these people can pay their loans back. Wait, that would take a little sacrifice on their part.
What about the person who had a college loan, and struggled but was able to pay it off? Will they get a $10,000 reimbursement or will they be penalized for not being a deadbeat? What about the person who didn’t go to college but purchased a truck to become a plumber or carpenter? Will they get $10,000 to pay their truck loan? I think not. Instead, his or her taxes will probably go up so the government can pay off the loans of these highly educated people. These are the ‘executives’ who donate to political campaigns, so winning their favor is important to politicians.
This column isn’t written because my wife and I are bitter that we made sacrifices. It is written because of the unfairness of the system. Young people want the best of everything as soon as they graduate. They should be aware that the strength of a marriage is the ability to save money to buy a house or car or even appliances they can afford it. Working together to achieve a financial goal will build a strong foundation and will help create a long healthy marriage between a husband and a wife.
- Larry
The News That Matters Podcast Co-ho
Youth Room
Putting God first
Lyla Belle King is the youngest reporter on staff at The Missions Tribune.
She writes in each edition about life through the eyes a young devout
Christian girl. She sets an example of how to always stand for Christ - no matter what!
Hello Youth Room! How are you? How’s school? Are you guys excited about winter? I am, I love the winter and snow and especially Christmas. And Christmas music! Anyways, I hope you all are staying safe and having a great day. Before we get into this article, I want to talk about what inspired it. A couple of days ago I got to watch the new Black Panther movie, Wakanda Forever. It was amazing. I loved it so much! I also love the characters and just thought it was a great tribute to Chadwick Boseman who sadly passed away. But the good news is he is going to heaven, he was saved! So even though I was so upset much like everyone else, it’s wonderful to know he is with God.
However, today's article is not about Chadwick even though he was so inspirational and I encourage you to look up Chadwick’s Christianity because he frequently talked about God which not a lot of celebrities do. But I want to talk about another Black Panther star. Letitia Wright. Letitia is a very strong Christian and a great actress, if you do not know her, she plays Shuri in the Marvel universe. She also speaks out about Jesus. This alone is so inspirational because there are just not enough Christian role models today. And sometimes we need that role model to relate to and know it’s okay to believe when the world is telling us otherwise.
There is an interview Letitia Wright did with Premier Gospel about acting and taking a break to be closer to God. It’s a fantastic interview. I recommend you watch it. However, she talks about this job that was really important with big actors and a great director and God told her to give it up. She was saying that she wants to know God and saying that she loves him and never wants to put anything above him. But acting for her was already so far up there. Wright says, “All I heard in my head honestly was I can give you more than that I just need you right now.” So, she gave up the job and started putting God first. And he delivered! She was able to get many great roles including Black Panther and a very special relationship with God. I just find that inspirational because a lot of the mistakes made by Christians today are not putting God first. We need to give him the wheel and trust in him!
Thank you so much for reading this edition of Youth Room! This week let’s all focus on what we’re putting above God and pray that we can put whatever that is, money, video games, celebrities, or extracurriculars, lower on our lists so we can grow closer to God. Have a wonderful and safe week everybody! Jesus loves you! This is Lyla Belle signing out.
Heart 2 Heart Moment…
Hello friend, it’s time for us to walk and talk. Grab only what you need, let’s go! The word Gratitude is on my heart and in my spirit. Gratitude - the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. It seems being thankful, is becoming a thing of the past. So many spent so much time comparing and complaining. Focusing on things that are beyond their control. When you realize that you can only thing you truly have the power to control is you. Your perspective can and will begin to change when you accept, you change yourself. When you do your focus will change. The perspective I’ve found most helpful is to appreciate anything anyone does for me. They don’t have to, but they choose to bless me. Instead of setting yourself up for disappointment from people, live in a posture of gratitude. If they do what they say, be thankful. Not placing all your hope and expectation on others but choosing to live in a posture of appreciation, you will not be disappointed. When we lead with gratitude, and appreciation for the things and people we have in our life, we will find ourselves becoming thankful for what and who we have in our lives. Things will not always be what or how we want them to be, but they will be the right thing that God will use to get us to the place he has for our lives. So the next time you find yourself disappointed by others, do a check. Did you place all your hope and expectation in another, instead of placing your expectation, hope, and trust in God? Then set your perspective, to live in appreciation. God’s word says, Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5: 20). Let’s seek to lead each and every day and night with Gratitude. Being ready to show appreciation and ready to return the kindness, even when we don’t receive it in return. All because we give Thanks to God the Father for EVERYTHING!
From My Heart 2 Yours,
Danielle S. Washington
