How Biden’s move to cancel up to $20k in student loans impacts loaners | USA TODAY

President Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student loans will impact people in different ways, but for some, it will have no impact at all.

RELATED: Biden announces cancellation of student loan debt, extends freeze

Millions of Americans saddled by student loan debt breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday. Delivering on a key campaign promise, President Joe Biden announced he would cancel at least $10,000 in student loan debt for millions of borrowers, as well as $20,000 to Pell Grant recipients. The move comes months before the midterm elections, where Democrats are hoping to energize young voters.

Biden, who made the move using executive authority, said the cost of a college education has become exorbitant. “That ticket has become too expensive for too many Americans," Biden said during remarks from the White House’s Roosevelt Room. "The burden is so heavy that even if you graduate, you might not have the ticket that graduating college once offered."

Biden held off making a final decision for months amid pressure from fellow Democrats, unions and other liberal groups pushing him to cancel at least $50,000 in student loan debt. His move to target $10,000 as a baseline mostly won praise from the left but also pushback from activists seeking more.

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16 comments

  1. i’m not clued up on this. did the students get their place on merit and/or money ? they may have been grateful to be chosen, whilst there was no room for others. I would say if they are ‘given’ $20k… then every non-student in the U.S.A. should get $20k in their bank accounts.

  2. OMG.. first off – go to college and try to get an education for free via scholarships and grants. If you need loans, then when you graduate at 22, work in public service until you’re 32. Problem solved.

    What actually happened was people bought their way in to college without earning it through performance then had “the college experience” partying.

    Then they got out of school thinking they’d jump into the private sector entry level making big bucks. Then they fell into the mouse trap and went BACK to school which deferred loans.

    In the meantime, they went on trips and used credit to enjoy their 20s.

    Now they’ve maxed out their potential.. and are trying to qualify for a program to help with 300k in debt.

  3. Saying that we shouldn’t forgive current college graduates student loan debt since it would be unfair for previous college graduates that have already paid off their student loan debt is like saying we shouldn’t find a cure for a disease people face today because people in the past died from that disease. Also, how can a country that spends close to a trillion dollars on it’s military budget every single year be against spending a fraction of that amount to forgive student loans just once?

  4. I graduated from college 4 years ago, but still owe tens of thousands in debt, I’ve lost 2 jobs during this pandemic (though I do have a job now), & rent for most places is almost what I pay in student loans a month so I can’t afford to move out on my own. I would love to be a more active member of the U.S. economy if I could afford to do so without so much substantial student loan debt. Even if I only had 10% of my student loans forgiven that’s still roughly 8 grand I don’t have to worry about having to try to pay on time every month anymore. So, whether or not I qualify for the loans President Biden forgiving, I support this decision since it will still help millions of college graduates & it will help the U.S. economy as a whole.

  5. Ya know who’s gonna pick up the tab for this example of lunacy on full display! Those same folks whom can no longer afford to pay that x3 insane electric bill….😢

  6. A big shout out to all those urban democrats paying increased taxes to get my 5 college grad-kid 20k a piece to get new dirt bikes, a nicer car, top tier Disneyland annual passes… etc etc..

  7. Lenders saw they were not going to get their money back, so they pushed for this. Nothing altruistic or political about it.

  8. These are government loans and they can forgive them. The problem is that they already spent the interest the expected to receive

  9. And it shouldn’t make a difference. You’re undocumented. You got your better education and I’m glad you did what your family came here to do. The united states is the land of opportunity and freedom but understand that freedom isn’t free. Opportunities must be earned. The federal government doesn’t have the authority to forgive private student loans. The promissory note is between a private lender and you. The federal government only can control the terms where the fed itself was the lender.

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