Every year, more and more American college graduates find themselves feeling trapped in one of our country’s biggest prisons: student loan debt. According to Forbes Magazine, 44.7 million American college graduates in 2019 accumulated debt totaling $1.56 trillion. In response, the 2020 presidential election candidates on both sides have proposed solutions to the financial epidemic, including canceling all or part of the debt and making college free.

While these solutions would alleviate stress for many current and future graduates, Americans need to remember that the money to execute these programs can’t be pulled out of thin air—we will have to pay taxes to fund this. In addition, clearing graduate students’ debt may not teach them how to be financially responsible if they don’t have to pay, or repay, a dime for college.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has proposed her Ultra-Millionaire Tax on the wealthy as a possible source for the funds to wipe out student debt. However, in an interview with NBC News, economist Jonathan Gruber cited his study of the country’s tax system which found that for every 0.1 percent increase on wealth taxes, the total wealth these citizens reported to the government dropped by 3.5 percent. Instead, the government can offer the wealthier population a tax incentive for donations that set up scholarships for students who have demonstrated the ability and motivation to pursue higher education but lack the money for college.

One of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ proposals is to eradicate all of the student debt. However, this won’t teach financial responsibility if these individuals don’t have to repay their loans. Not holding someone responsible for their debt seems as irresponsible as incurring exorbitant amounts in the first place. A solution to this could be President Donald Trump’s idea of streamlining the existing repayment plans and adjusting payments based on a person’s income, capping them at a certain percentage and forgiving the loan after a specified number of payments.

In terms of a free college education, Sen. Amy Klobuchar wants to make two-year but not four-year colleges free while Sanders wants to make public colleges and universities, community colleges and more free with his College For All Act. Automatically providing tuition-free education for four-year universities would be overwhelmingly expensive, especially without any incentive to complete the bachelor’s degree. Providing two years of community college is a great start, but perhaps, tuition at an affordable public four-year university could be reduced but only after completion of the free two-year degree.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden wants those with student debt to have the option to file bankruptcy. But, ironically, he was one of the supporters for the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, according to GQ Magazine. This law made it impossible for one to get rid of their student debt. Coupled with the financial crisis of 2008, that change in the bankruptcy law helped worsen the student loan debt situation.

Pete Buttigieg wants families earning less than $100,000 to attend public colleges without student loans. In this way, each family’s expected family contribution would be considered a more accurate reflection of what people would actually end up paying.

There’s no denying that the student loan crisis has grown worse over the years and will continue to head downhill unless change happens. While education should be made available for everyone, that doesn’t necessarily mean it should be free, which would diminish its value, creating a sense of entitlement.

There are some good ideas on the table to alleviate the existing debt, but perhaps the best ideas can be taken to create sensible and financially responsible programs, and Klobuchar’s and Buttigieg’s policies are the best courses of action because they strive to make education affordable for Americans without stripping away its value.