This graph is making the rounds again on other social media sites. It begs the question "Why do men pay off their student loans, but women can't/won't?"

It's not Black history month, but you already know the answer!

Black women are forced to borrow more for their education. Then Black women are paid less when they graduate, even for the same degree.

A disproportionate amount of the $1.7 Trillion of loan debt (not a typo. Trillion. With a "T.") is held by Black women that did everything right)

If a Black woman from a not rich family gets straight As, 5 As in her AP classes, and scores a 1580 out of 1600 on her SAT, and gets student loans to go to UCLA to study computer science, should she take it? (-$100K of debt).

Should she then get the Masters at SDSU? (-$50K).

OK! She's now $150K in debt! What are the interest payments on that? How much will she have to earn to pay that down? What city can she live in where the cost of living is low enough, and software engineer salaries for Black women high enough, for her to make a dent in that?

Where did she go wrong?

Should she not have gone to grad school for that Masters in computer science?

Or should she not have gone to UCLA for the bachelors in computer science?

Maybe she should have gone to med school or law school instead? Oh wait, that's more expensive.🤔

Ah I've got it!

She should not have been born poor! Then she wouldn't have to borrow so much!

And she should not have been born Black! Then she'd get paid fairly relative to other women!

And she should not have been born a woman! Then she'd get paid fairly compared to men!

It’s better to be born rich than gifted

The least-gifted children of high-income parents graduate from college at higher rates than the most-gifted children of low-income parents, and other dispatches from the point where genetics intersects with economics.

The Washington Post
@Enema_Cowboy @mekkaokereke the number of times I've whispered to myself: if you were just born rich like these schmucks!