Democratic Leaders Are Still Pushing Biden To Forgive $50,000 In Student Debt

By Susie Madrak — February 18, 2021

When I listened to Joe Biden's town hall the other night, I was basking in the warm glow of his competence and kindness.

Until he started talking about student debt. Most of what he said was, well, bull manure.

Pres. Biden is facing backlash for rejecting a proposal to cancel $50,000 in student debt and stating point-blank, “I will not make that happen.” https://t.co/3p08qGyIwQ

— ABC News (@ABC) February 17, 2021

Forgiving $50,000 in student debt does not primarily benefit students who went to "elite" colleges. Those schools have financial aid packages that leave their students with the lowest amount of debt.

Biden says he won’t cancel debt because it helps Harvard grads. But Harvard has already canceled debt for its students. Here’s the Dept. of Ed page showing that only 2% of current Harvard undergrads have any federal student loan debt. Let’s cancel student debt for everyone. pic.twitter.com/aLQfR4HNuX

— Charlie Eaton (@CharlieEatonPhD) February 18, 2021

Then Bides was riffing on how he'd rather see people work off their debt by using their degrees to take targeted jobs.

Here's the problem with that. About 40 percent of those heavily burdened with student debt didn't graduate! (Because poor students often have sudden financial crises.) So they have the worst of both worlds: Student debt without the degree that could help them move up economically. (And in case you didn't know, once you're out of school? Good luck finding another school that will accept all your hard-earned credits.)

Oh, and a lot of that debt is from for-profit colleges, the ones that politicians made so easy to borrow from. (Thanks to major donors to both sides of the aisle.) Many of those students were members of the military, who chose those schools because they make it more convenient to hold down a job while attending.

Is canceling student debt unfair to those who've paid? Well—debt cancellation helps everyone. It'll boost GDP $108B/yr & add 1.5M jobs/yr

Surviving past injustice shouldnt mean we prevent future justice—it should mean we accelerate it#CancelStudentDebt https://t.co/jeeSSHftgp

— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) February 18, 2021

Dems are pushing him hard on this, thank God:

Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren said they will keep pressuring President Joe Biden to wipe out student loan debt after he shot down a proposal at a town hall https://t.co/PNUI3enjh0

— Bloomberg (@business) February 17, 2021

AOC hits Biden on $50K student debt, says Schumer has her back https://t.co/lEj6mqzkKK pic.twitter.com/ixIkn6D5EU

— New York Post (@nypost) February 18, 2021

Q: Does President @JoeBiden have the authority to cancel student debt with the stroke of a pen?

A: yes. pic.twitter.com/219bHyFbPo

— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) February 17, 2021

Here’s the truth: Biden has the authority to cancel $50K in student loan debt and can do so with a stroke of a pen.

We should be investing in the futures of the American people where they aren’t crushed by exorbitant debt.

I hope President Biden acts to #CancelStudentDebt.

— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) February 18, 2021

Student loan debt is a huge drag on the economy, keeping young people from buying homes and starting families. I kind of think that Joe Biden (the man who removed student loans from the bankruptcy "reform" bill) owes it to them.