Hi, Many of you know that some members of Congress recently introduced a bill that would cancel every last penny of the $1.6 trillion in student debt on the books.
Do you like this idea? What questions do you have about it?
If we were to campaign on this issue, what do you think people would want to know? We want to prepare answers to questions in advance.
I wonder if people are afraid, loosing the debt to their degree would make the degree loose its value.
We don’t loose the experience and the earned credentials, right?
I love the idea. It’d be a life changing event for my family. My wife and I are both from low-income families and we both have graduate degrees with the debt that often comes with it. My wife’s family couldn’t afford to pay for college because her father had a massive stroke and later committed suicide, which left them deeply in debt. My family was simply too poor to pay for my education, so I joined the Army Reserves and for a variety of reasons (these benefits were spotty prior to the Post-9/11 GI Bill) I incurred debt too.
It’s not like I didn’t try doing something about it. I worked during college and lobbied the legislature to not cut funding to higher ed as a student body president. I started college in 2002 and finished in 2011 (thanks to deployments during the GWOT), and I saw tuition more than double during that time. It was a disaster.
My wife and I both have decent jobs now, but with the high cost of living, rent, child care costs, and student debt repayment, we’re living paycheck to paycheck.
My question is if cost of living would be taken into account if a Warren-style approach was adopted.
I’m in support of student debt abolition—this crisis is a systematic failure created by the federal and state governments, for-profit schools, and university administrators. Nothing short of a universal debt jubilee can be called truly just.
Hi,
I fully support the cancellation of the entire student debt. I support Sen. Sanders proposal to eliminate the student depth in our country.
I would support any cause or motion by our community to see this through.
Thanks!
Erik R.
I support a poignant and direct solution to ending the student loan crisis. I wonder how to respond to criticism about how this forgiveness will affect finances of the future.
Thanks for this question, Kim. We are working on an FAQ answering this question. There was a big academic study recently published that showed that canceling student debt would actually help the economy. Does the following language make sense to you as a response to the question? If no, what else would you like to know? Thanks for your feedback!
What impact will cancelling student debt have on the economy?
Academic research has showed that eliminating student debt for everyone would provide a significant boost to the economy. Specifically, a debt jubilee would boost the economy by approximately $100 billion a year for at least 10 years, yielding lower unemployment rates, increased spending, and more. The study also shows that full cancellation would have only a moderate effect on the federal budget deficit. Read the full report here: The Macroeconomic Effects of Student Debt Cancellation | Levy Economics Institute
I think it would be a boost to the economy, which could help small businesses with an influx of new customers. People can start to enjoy the lives they should be afforded by not having burdensome debt bills. I don’t necessarily think you can make education completely free unless overall taxes are raised. Higher education and the salaries of those involved in universities has to be paid somehow, but no one should be in debt more than 20-40K for a four year degree at the state public universities that collect tax payer dollars from their parents for years. By making education affordable you allow more people to get an education, which scares politicians. If you keep the populous ignorant and sheep-like they won’t raise objections to your shenanigans.
I’m 55 and still (trying) to pay off my student loan debt. I would welcome any effort to help pay off this debt even if it were not removed completely. Simply making it interest free would help me greatly. Because of the compounded interest, I’ve paid at least 2x over for my education which I do not regret btw, but also don’t believe interest charges should be the reason why someone is not able to pay off their loans.