Burd, Robert Applebaum says: “Student debt – perhaps amounting to a trillion dollars – is responsible for holding back many American workers. Furthermore, this debt is putting a strain on the U.S. economy… By forgiving that debt, the government will free up the purchasing power of these workers, who will then be better positioned to contribute to the U.S. economic recovery” (1). He believes student loan forgiveness will stimulate the economy because those who were previously burdened by student loans will be free to spend and invest in the U.S. economy. He believes students are held back from their potential because they are so consumed by student loans that they are unable to help stimulate the economy that is creating a generation of people who are themselves in deficit. One of the main issues he addresses is that of tuition, stating: "With skyrocketing tuition rates, the same degrees that now cost nearly five times the amount they did just a few decades ago are worth much less in the today's decimated job market" (Applebaum 4 ). By addressing soaring tuition costs, he pulls back the curtain on the root of the problem