Roundtable: What about President Biden's student debt forgiveness plan?

What do you think about President Biden’s plan to provide $10,000 in student debt cancellation for millions of Americans?

It's an illegal act for the sake of politics

It’s confusing. On a CNN town hall, Scranton Joe said, “I don't think I have the authority to do it by signing with a pen." Last July, San Francisco Nancy Pelosi said, “People think the president of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not."

Something must have changed between then and now. What could it be? Oh, wait, isn’t there an election coming up? And isn’t Biden very unpopular? This couldn’t be an cynical attempt to buy votes with other people’s money, could it?Charles Rose who was general counsel for Obama’s Education Department said, “the Executive Branch likely does not have the unilateral authority to engage in mass student debt cancellation. If Biden enacts the plan, courts will likely overturn it.”So, it’s not so confusing. Biden is trying an illegal act which will be struck down by the courts to buy votes in November. I get it now. — Harry Bulkeley

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Why are we paying for education at all?

That's nice that he's canceling some loans, but honestly why are we paying for education when other countries get it free? How come many billions of dollars were sent to the Ukraine to help them? Why couldn't that be used here in our country for education, healthcare, our vets who fought for this country but are homeless? It baffles me that we can help other countries, but we aren't helping our own citizens.

On that note, student loans shouldn't be a topic of discussion as to why we're paying for it and why so many of us are in debt. We are supposed to be the greatest country in the world. — Courtney Wallace

Brings relief but doesn't solve the problem

Biden’s debt cancellation is an admission that the system for funding higher education is broken. Forty-eight million Americans (almost 20% of adults) currently owe $1.75 trillion in student debt, almost all of it for undergraduate study. On average, students incur about $30,000 of debt over four years, which takes 20 years to pay off.  A third of borrowers never even complete their degree. This burden means delays in marriage, buying a car or house, even taking second- or third-choice occupations to meet loan payments.  Pursuing one’s dream is deferred, possibly forever.

This straitjacket of debt is not a bug in the system but a feature, put in place by Ronald Reagan, who replaced grant programs with loans, giving big banks an unending stream of federally guaranteed cash and disciplining uppity students at the same time. Biden’s $10,000 cancellation — $20,000 for students whose families qualified for Pell Grants — will bring relief to millions of Americans, but it doesn’t solve the problem. Today’s economy requires education beyond high school, so we should follow Bernie Sanders’ proposal and make it available tuition-free – technical school or college – and stop crushing the spirit of our youth just as they step forth into the world. — David Amor

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Future debtors will ask, 'why not me?'

My Facebook friends were momentarily excited about this, but that may be misleading because my liberal friends are enthusiastic about everything President Biden does. My conservative friends doubt whether the president has the authority to do this — that is, he is not a king, and, as I expressed it then, no modern monarch can decide who has to pay debts and who doesn’t.

Already the cry has appeared, “if them, why not me?” That is entirely justified, and we can expect future debtors to demand that their loans be cancelled, too. That’s human nature.

Plato noted that politicians love to give away other people’s money, and that the public always welcomes it. That ultimately soured him on democracy. Unfortunately for him, he could not find a philosopher-king. The last one he tried to educate sold him into slavery.

Plato’s answer to student debt was for teachers to work for free. — William Urban

Debt cancellation good, but more parameters needed

I am definitely not against the $10,000-$20,000 federal student loan cancellations, but I do think if there were more requirements to have student loans cancelled that there would be a lot less contention over this plan. While the discussion of this was happening, I heard parameters such as loan cancellations only for students who had earned a four-year degree and cancellations only for students who had received a four-year degree in the time specified.

By receiving a four-year degree these students would have kept their grades up to the specifications of the college or university. Forgiving everyone’s loans no matter what grades were earned (or classes failed) and erasing those loans of students who dropped out has caused a lot more heated disagreement and resentment than if there were some requirements beyond just having the student loans.

I am 100% for helping people who have followed all of the rules. — Jeannette Chernin

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This establishes a regrettable precedent

I am less than enthusiastic. I don’t think it’s fair to people who went to work right after high school, to those who scrimped and worked outside jobs to pay for school while there, nor is it fair to those who sacrificed other spending to pay off their loans themselves. And, this establishes a regrettable precedent. I would allow relief to be given to a  much smaller number of those who were out and out scammed by for-profit “colleges”. But, I would be much more impressed by Congress passing a bill that reforms the whole student loan process. As things are now nothing is going to change. The loans should not be a profit source for banks and other, sometimes dubious, financial institutions. Nor should they, under any circumstance have compounding interest! The government should be the only source for the loans and the simple interest should only be enough to cover the operational expense. — Laurie Muelder

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Biden's program will have minor impact on inflation

In 2014, the Galesburg CUSD 205 Board of Education voted against the Community Eligibility Provision. It was a federal program that provided $100,000 for free lunch meals, but the members voted against it stating it wasn't fair for families who can afford to pay for their lunch meals to be included. After significant pushback from the community and teachers, the board unanimously approved it. There's a similar argument being made about the fairness of forgiving some student loan debt.Americans spend nearly twice as much on college than other developed countries, however, the United States remains a top destination for international students because of our universities and quality of education. Enrollment from talented foreign students fell 15 percent in 2021 in part due to the rising tuition costs and COVID restrictions. Initial analysis suggests President Biden's program will have a minor impact on inflation. Brain drain and an inability to recruit talent due to educational costs for emerging technologies will have a negative effect on our global competitiveness and national security. — John Hunigan

Many complainers benefit from government programs

Examine the facts of this $10,000 loan forgiveness. A federal student loan is not a car loan. You don’t pay that? They take the car. Student Loan? They garnish your wages and you can’t even file for bankruptcy. The self-righteous opine “I paid mine.” Yet many receive benefits from a government “dole” (pensions, social security, Medicare, PPP loans, the VA, farm subsidies, bank bailouts, oil company subsidies, etc.) I use the term “dole” because all of those programs, even Social Security and Medicare, are heavily reliant on taxes.

News to the pontificating on those “slackers” that won’t pay off their loan: 57% of loans that are defaulted/delinquent, come from those that owe the least amount of money ($5-$20K) and 50% of loan debt make less than $65K a year. Many never even finished college as the financial strain was going to be too much. Those who owe most of the total debt are older (35-49). Educate yourself. Current Federal Student Loan debt is $1.61 trillion. Shave off a rather measly $10K for those that generally need it most? You are not going to break the government bank when the current national debt is added to by 1 trillion a YEAR due to 2018 tax cuts to corporations. — Stephen Podwojski

The Community Roundtable runs each Sunday and is made up of local writers. Community writers answer one question each week in 150 words or fewer. 

This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Roundtable: What about Biden's student debt forgiveness plan?