What Should Biden Do About Student Loan Debt?
“A movie that requires plenty of self-examination” » P.09
STUDENT DEBT IS A CURSE UPON AMERICA’S FUTURE. BIDEN MUST WIPE IT OUT
by Astra Taylor
ON PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN’S FIRST DAY in office, one hundred people calling themselves the Biden Jubilee 100 declared themselves to be on a student debt strike. They represent a growing movement of debtors who are demanding that the new administration take bold action to cancel all student loans during its first one hundred days. They also represent the estimated 45 million people in this country who hold a combined $1.7 trillion in student debt.
There’s a broad consensus that student debt has reached crisis proportions in this country. In 2012, when Joe Biden was vice president, student debt surpassed $1 trillion dollars. If President Biden doesn’t do something, student debt will surpass $2 trillion on his watch.
Skyrocketing tuition costs coupled with diminished federal and state funding have caused the nation’s balance sheet to explode. While students from rich families graduate debt-free because their parents have the means to pay up front, most people have to borrow. Because of interest, working people wind up paying far more than their wealthy counterparts for equivalent degrees.
Fortunately, this is a problem President Biden can solve, without going through Congress.
