President Biden said he is "taking a hard look" into forgiving some federal student loan debt on Thursday, but the amount he is considering is less than $50,000 per borrower, lower than some top Democrats have been seeking since he took office.
"I am considering dealing with some debt reduction," Mr. Biden said in response to a question at the White House. "I am not considering $50,000 debt reduction. But I'm in the process of taking a hard look at whether or not there will be additional debt forgiveness."
The president said he would have an answer on forgiving additional debt in the "next couple of weeks."
If indeed there is even partial cancellation, there can be no other path forward outside of getting the Federal government out of the student loan business forever. I mean, what a racket! An 18-25 year old young adult can take out six figures worth of loans, backed 100% by the Federal government. And college tuitions can be hiked at a rate which easily surpasses inflation, so the universities make out like bandits.
What's equally galling and depressing about the prospects of loan "cancellation" is the woeful misunderstanding of basic economics. Those who hold a large amount of student loan debt believe there's no consequence to the government just "forgiving" the debt.
There’s no such thing as “canceling” student debt.
— Brad Polumbo 🇺🇸⚽️ 🏳️🌈 (@brad_polumbo) April 5, 2022
There are two real options.
1) The people who borrowed the money, affluent college graduates, pay back what they owe.
2) Taxpayers, including 2 in 3 adults who didn’t go to college, eat the loss & face more taxes/debt.
So y'see, such a policy would disproportionately hurt the poor and lower middle class, many of whom didn't even attend college. And those who lived up to their obligations by paying back all of what they borrowed will now be saddled with an extra burden. When this is pointed out to the biggest advocates of canceling student loan debt, they respond with invective similar to what they convey when they're told there are only two genders.
Let's face it. This would be horrible politics and policy, and it should be hung around Biden's neck.
Ultimately, our public officials have two choices: They can either allow the current situation to resolve itself via the time-tested method of supply and demand, or they can admit that there is a massive problem in American higher education and end the status quo as we know it. They cannot do both. To foist all of the existing debt on innocent taxpayers and then to start the same disastrous process all over again would be an act of incomprehensible vandalism. If, in a moment of dramatic cowardice, this president takes that course, he, and those who benefited from his folly, must be made to reap the whirlwind.
Lastly, I'd like to participate in this little exercise:
Everyone change your profile pic to your student debt. Log into https://t.co/bLFpAXbQ1N and take a screenshot of your balance
— The Debt Collective (@StrikeDebt) April 29, 2022
Change your screen name to:
"$10K No Way! 🟥 Don’t Go Small Cancel It All" pic.twitter.com/gJtTFN51Nh
Here's mine:
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