Thanks, Biden (Again)
President Biden announced that he signed an executive order that makes good on his promise to cancel student loan debt. Effective immediately, $10,000 in federal student loans plus another $10,000 for Pell Grants will be forgiven for those who make $125,000 and under. 43 million Americans will be impacted. 20 million borrowers will have their loans fully cancelled and another 23 million will have half the debt. Republicans are freaking out. What for? They don’t pay taxes so this doesn’t really have anything to do with them. People living in blue states will be picking up the tab for this, as usual, and they’re used to it. They’re already paying for federal benefits in red states. This isn’t a bailout this time. It’s an investment. America just got smarter, less stressed, and more possible for us all.
The money that the students save will just go right back into the economy which benefits everybody, unlike rich people who hoard their cash.
Not only does this executive order cancel debt, but it pauses repayment for those who won’t get their debt cancelled until the end of 2022 (no one with federal loans has had to pay a single dollar in loan payments since Biden took office because of the pandemic crisis) and caps monthly payments at 5% of discretionary income (what is left after you pay your bills.) This will be life changing for millions of people (rich people would never understand because they’ve never lived paycheck to paycheck.) Loan balances won’t grow due to interest if borrowers keep up with their monthly payments. The rate used to be 10% of discretionary income. This means that their loan payments will be cut in half. After 10 years (instead of the current 20 years for borrowers with original loan balances of $12,000 or less), whatever is left will be forgiven. Biden was able to get around Congress by not getting them involved in changing interest rates.
The average amount of student loan debt a single person holds is $30K. Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigned on $50K. When asked about the lesser amount, she said she was happy with it because 43 million people who have demonstrated the most need will get relief. This plan carefully targeted Black students who hold the most debt (1 in 4 will now be debt free), plus veterans, young parents, and first generation Americans, those of us who would never have been able to go to college without a loan. It frees them all up to move forward with their goals. That’s great for them and it’s great for US!
Republicans frown and say, WHAT ABOUT ME???????
Public college used to be free. Graduates contributed to a thriving, robust middle class because America had plenty of talented, educated, skilled workers. Advancements in technology happened during this time because there were so many bright minds making America #1. Not possible without a college degree for free. Most of the WWII vets took advantage of a free college education with the GI bill. That’s when “American exceptionalism” started.
Costs of public college have tripled since Reagan because public funding got cut while college executive pay went way up. It increased 13% faster than the national average in 25 public universities. Pell Grants used to cover 80%. Now they only cover 32%.
Of course Republicans are bitching and whining about this being unfair. Rich people need not be concerned about this because they don’t qualify for federal student loans anyway. THEY HAVE TOO MUCH MONEY. They can’t appreciate the difference $10,000 will make to millions of people. They say it’s “not fair.” Not fair to who? It’s not fair that the majority of Americans are $400 away from complete financial ruin should there be a medical emergency in the richest country in the world. Get over yourselves and shut the hell up.
The What About Me crowd is always bitching so just ignore them.
The media keeps poking the bear with the student loan story as if it was a televised fighting match. They keep highlighting the good with the mad, interjecting who is pissed off and why. Hey media! Just report the news without including feudal zingers. Don’t’ invite the bitchers into the ring.
Biden’s debt forgiveness plan will cost $300 billion. The US fossil fuel industry received twice that in subsidies in 2020.
“Student debt: $1.9 trillion. GOP tax cut for the rich: $1.9 trillion. Who else would like to live in a country where we bail out students who need it instead of CEOs who don’t?” — Robert Reich
Republicans who took PPP money are bitching about student loan forgiveness.
Lauren Boebert, the dumbest member of Congress, didn’t go to college and everybody knows it. She is bitching about how unfair loan forgiveness is. Somebody reimburse her the twenty bucks she spent on her GED so she’ll shut the hell up.
This isn’t the end of fulfilling the student loan debt forgiveness promise. He was able to do all of this without Congress. The House is ready and willing, but the Senate is corrupt and unwilling. Once Dems take the Senate in November, he’ll be able to do much more with Congress. In the meantime, he plans on fighting to double the maximum Pell Grant to make community college free.
One more thing — thanks to the American Rescue Plan, federal loan debt relief will not be treated as taxable income on federal income taxes.
Thanks, Biden.
