Biden is Canceling Student Debt, but is it Enough?
As one of his biggest campaign promises, President Joe Biden proposed canceling $10,000 of student debt for each borrower. This move would have benefited students who attended public college or university including private historically Black colleges or universities and students of minority-serving institutions.
Under the Trump administration, many students suffered from scams caused by schools and the administration itself. New rules established in 2019 for determining how much debt relief someone could get made it harder to get full relief, meaning many borrowers only got partial relief.
In March 2021, the Biden administration announced that they will be cancelling $1 billion in student debt loans for students who believe they were defrauded by their university. With this new policy, borrowers who were scammed by the Trump administration will be fully relieved of their loans. An estimated 72,000 students will have their loans dismissed.
But is this enough?
Biden is only canceling $1 billion out of the total national student debt of $1.7 trillion, which means that approximately 0.06% of loans are being excused. While this move to remedy the harm caused by the Trump administration is incredibly important, the Biden administration must take further steps to keep its campaign promise to address the $1.7 trillion national student debt.
Addressing the national student debt issue is essential in addressing other social issues like racial and economic inequalities. Individuals in marginalized groups typically have a harder time accessing higher education because of the cost, making it necessary to take out loans.
Women currently hold two-thirds of the $1.7 trillion national student loan debt.
Black women have the highest student loan debt among any racial or ethnic group, graduating with an average of $37,558 in student debt. The gender and racial pay and wealth gaps make it even more difficult for individuals from marginalized communities to pay back their loans.
Democrat lawmakers like Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer are pushing to cancel up to $50,000 of debt per borrower, even pushing for Biden to use his presidential power of executive order. However, Biden said in February that he is not willing to cancel $50,000 per borrower, but is open to cancelling $10,000 per borrower.
Forgiving $10,000 or more in federal student loan debt for each borrower could lessen the burden of loan repayments for individuals of marginalized communities, giving them more upward mobility and financial freedom.
Expanding our knowledge should be a right, not a privilege as it has been the last few centuries, especially with the consistent increases in tuition nationwide. Getting an education should not be a burden that prevents people in our society from moving forward.
Written by Nivita Sriram
