Student Loan Debt Cancellation is Going to Happen - Deal With It

Must say, kinda been taken aback with how persistent the back & forth out in the world has been about whether or not canceling up to $50,000 of student debt is a “good idea” or whether it is another sign of the “Elites” within the Democratic Party taking care of their own…which, okay…yes, a lot of college-educated people have student loan debt…but it sort of ignores just how many other folks have significant amounts as well.

I mean, I honestly don’t know anyone who’s really hopping mad over the thought of this? I presume they exist in principle, but most of them seem to be Republican-leaning conservatives who feel that you should have to work off those debts in order to learn anything…but still, it’s been popular for a lot of Progressive / Leftist to come out against Debt Cancellation for fear that it will inflame the Class divide even more… (these pieces are all from 2018, presumably when the cancellation plans were much larger in scope…than what is currently being discussed).

Still, I just struggle to see how this is going to cause some sort of major political backlash if moved forward with…but maybe I’m naive. So, if y’all have anecdotes about this from Democrats in your life, do share them…to me it all just seems like a fight folks feel they need to have because it feels odd to be on the same side pulling for the same thing, and so people have staked out these odd ideological stances based on some crude math on who owns how much debt and not on how limited our options are.

In terms of who owns the debt, plenty of people in the lower 40% of the income distribution own outstanding debt:

And while the majority of student debt is owned by people in the higher income bracket, limiting debt relief to the first $50,000 is only going benefit many more in the lower-income distribution on a percentage basis versus higher incomes (where a percentage of advanced degrees and loan amounts increase above $50k, etc)

Likewise, education debt is concentrated in households with high levels of educational attainment. In 2019, the new Fed data show, households with graduate degrees owed 56 percent of the outstanding education debt—an increase from 49 percent in 2016. For context, only 14 percent of adults age 25 or older hold graduate degrees. The 3 percent of adults with professional and doctorate degrees hold 20 percent of the education debt. These households have median earnings more than twice as high as the overall median ($106,000 vs. $47,000 in 2019).

Finally, a lot of the criticism of this policy suggestion seems to be that the money would be best spent elsewhere on other programs…which, while it may be absent of any context, ignores the fact that the only reason this policy is even up for debate is that that the Federal Government ended up owning most of the student loan debt in this country, rather than owning all the car loan debt or payday lending debt, etc.

I just honestly struggle to see what people are fighting about on the left…it’s not like we have very many other options for debt relief to even consider if the Senate is not in play…even this policy is going to likely face challenges from the Judicial branch.

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The horrible truth is that there is no way to get out from under the often insane college debt.

It cannot be discharged via bankruptcy. If you are older and default, your social security can/will be garnished.

If you put your loan in abeyance due to the fact you are not earning enough, sure ok, but the interest keeps compounding, so you end up owing more and more and more.

There has to be a way. To those who cry that they paid theirs off, so should everyone else - why should you get something I didn’t get? - it would be fun to know the total amount of their debt, how long ago, etc. Betcha anything it is nothing like the amounts that can be racked up today.

Along with mortgage shenanigans, college tuition loans appear to have undergone some shady transformations prior to the ‘great recession’. If you were breathing and could sort of kind of maybe make it, you got accepted and off to the races with loans.

And of course, college degrees were touted as the way to get better employment opportunities, especially if you were willing to intern, usually for free, upon graduation.

Once the recession hove into view, all of that kinda went away. Except of course, the loan situation. Now, with the vast levels of unemployment we are seeing at all levels, debt relief becomes an even more pressing issue.

We are almost half way thru $90,000 of college debt. No retirement for us, until it gets paid off. We need that Social Security to live on, can’t walk away from that loan. You know, Social Security: the paltry sum that gets taxed thanks to Reagan, and is barely enough to get by?

Totally down with $50,000 debt relief - or more.

I’m not opposed and I won’t be upset but, I don’t necessarily think it’s the right fix. I personally prefer wiping out the past compound interest and locking in the loans with a very low ( 1% interest)

Is this left wing economics? Lol

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I am amazed at how cavalier pool a about government spending.

What’s another trillion in debt? Who cares about all the pool who scrimped, said and paid for their children eduction. Once the government rewarding bad behavior.

Perhaps they should go back 20 years and pay for everyone college, this that paid up as they went as well as those that paid off their debt.

The problem surrounds what colleges/universities charge for a education it’s
off the wall ridicules…We need the best/smartest people to get a education to
guarantee we have the best running the country…

Universities have turned themselves into big money making operations and they raise
prices for no other reason than they can…We are the last country to soak students
and their parents into heavy loans and mortgages…

They have asked why more people from Europe no longer come here to live…they
don’t because we are a country that exploits it’s citizens and have no education or
healthcare that all the industrial countries now have…most everything is a scam
here run by big corporations and the rich… Remember if they keep telling you daily
that America is the greatest country over and over and over again it could be they
are all full of BS… DO MORE FOR THE PEOPLE AND KEEP YOU MOUTH SHUT
AND LET YOUR ACTIONS TELL THE STORY…