Another Step Toward Cancelling Student Loans
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The courts may not allow the Biden administration to follow through on promises to cancel student loans and the left isn’t going to give Biden any credit for the more limited moves he’s made on this front. But it is worth noting that through several different programs now, Biden and his team have made a seriously positive impact on the lives of a lot of Americans. Here’s the latest step.
The Biden administration on Wednesday is canceling $1.2 billion in student debt for about 153,000 borrowers who took out relatively modest student loans and have been repaying it for the last decade or more.
A borrower can qualify for the forgiveness if they’re enrolled in the administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan and “have been making at least 10 years of payments, and have originally taken out $12,000 or less for college,” a White House fact sheet said. It also said that “for every $1,000 borrowed above $12,000, a borrower can receive forgiveness after an additional year of payments.”
As an example, the fact sheet said, “a borrower enrolled in SAVE who took out $14,000 or less in federal loans to earn an associate’s degree in biotechnology would receive full debt relief starting this week if they have been in repayment for 12 years.”
Those who receive the relief are expected to receive an email with a message from President Joe Biden saying, “I hope this relief gives you a little more breathing room.”
“I’ve heard from countless people who have told me that relieving the burden of their student loan debt will allow them to support themselves and their families, buy their first home, start a small business, and move forward with life plans they’ve put on hold,” the email says.
Sure, this is limited. Sure, it doesn’t really get at the heart of the fury over student loans, which come from highly educated leftists who are in really sizable debt. But this makes the lives of 153,000 working class people a lot better, not to mention giving them incentive to spend or save more. That seems to me like a very real benefit to a lot of Americans. Taken with all the other incremental programs Biden has used to reduce or eliminate student loans and it adds up to a real policy success, even if not a universal promise fulfilled.