One of the biggest issues in the 2016 presidential election is going to be college student loans, and this is because the college student has become an increasingly louder voice in the political world of Washington D.C. Some candidates will try to steal your votes by saying they want to give more loans and increase the student loan forgiveness program, but I want to make sure we have informed voters about this issue.

The left is saying that college student debt is the highest it has ever been, but between 2002 and 2012, enrollment increased 24 percent, from 16.6 million to 20.6 million. Therefore, more students in college means there is going to be more student debt, and that is inevitable. Also, the debts are increasing because the government is willing to lend us more money. We are broke college students; we will take any kind of money you can give us without even thinking about it.

But it’s not just students that will say yes to subsidies.

University administrators are not dumb people. If they see that the government is willing to give us more money they are going to increase their tuition. Colleges are always striving to be the best and to have the best facilities. So if they see a chance to bring in more money to bring in better professors or build a new building, they will do just that.

Certain presidential candidates are misleading voters about college affordability.

Bernie Sanders has spoken strongly for free college tuition. This is not thought-out very well. He says it will only take one percent tax of all the trading on Wall Street. Yes, that might work for what the current student population is, but if there is a 24 percent increase in 10 years while college is getting more and more expensive, what does he think will happen if college is free? People from all over and all walks of life will be signing up for college and free tuition.

You see, a college degree should be something that is respected. If employers see that tuition is free then having a degree will turn into what having a high school diploma is now. That means if you want to be labeled as “educated” you will have to have a masters or doctorate, only increasing the age at which young professionals enter the workforce.

Some would say an increase in student loans and an increase in the student loan forgiveness program is not the best solution, but this isn’t true. If you can’t afford college, there are other ways to pay for it. It is called working hard and earning scholarships and working throughout college. If we decrease loan amounts given then the colleges will be forced to lower tuition because less students will be able to enroll at their institutions.

But all the rhetoric surrounded this issue ignores an important point. What they don’t say is that most of the student debt is coming from for-profit colleges such as University of Phoenix and DeVry University. According to the US Treasury, in 2000 there was only one for-profit school that was in the top 25 college whose students owe the most, whereas in 2014 13 of the top 25 colleges were for-profit. I see a huge problem here that isn’t being discussed anywhere. I would like the presidential candidates to talk about this problem and decide if for-profit colleges are truly good for our nation.

In the end I want you to remember what your parents always said whenever you asked for money: “Money doesn’t grow on trees.”