Student-debt cancellation, proposed by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, has been among the most popular platform of Democratic candidates interviewed in last week’s CNN Democratic town hall.

And while students support this idea (the idea that they should not have to pay back the money they promised to pay back), we, as a nation, have lost sight of where the student-debt crisis originated in the first place.

Increasing enrollment in higher education has been cited as a reason for skyrocketing tuition. This is an easier area to tackle in regards to higher education, rather than federal and state funding, which have to maneuver around inflation costs in order to accomplish real work.

Many higher-education studies mention that baby boomers once paid their student debt off with earnings from summer jobs. Subsidies, such as the federal Pell Grant created in 1972 to support students with high financial need, now exist yet are still unable to sufficiently bring down the cost of college for many.

According to the U.S. Education Department, there were 5.1 million more students entering college in 2017 compared with 2000. With increased federal support to students, the more students who enter college, the more those dollars have to be spread around per student.

Candidates vying to attract younger voters should not lure them by promoting personal irresponsibility but rather by promoting trade and vocational schools, which are in need of workers and already funded by hefty numbers of scholarships. 

Promising a free education from kindergarten to college would undoubtedly interest many students, but would also take them away from opportunities to earn more money with only a few years of training for a trade skill while saving taxpayer dollars. Telling all students that they deserve a free college education not only affects taxpayers but distracts individuals from professions that better suit them.