Canceling Student Debt Is Good Policy and Good Politics
By Mondaire Jones
Long before the COVID-19 crisis upended our country, another, less noticeable crisis was quietly wreaking havoc on our economy. For years before the pandemic, millions of students were borrowing unsustainable amounts of money to finance their education. While wages stagnated, the cost of college ballooned to record levels. No longer was it even remotely possible to imagine a world like the one the Baby Boomer generation enjoyed, where tuition was as low as $40 a semester and a part-time job could comfortably pay for that tuition. But instead of addressing this burgeoning crisis, for years, elected officials ignored the problem.
When the pandemic hit, we found ourselves in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Millions of Americans, already struggling to keep up with their student loans, saw their incomes cut suddenly — or, worse, disappear altogether. In an effort to ease the financial burden, the Department of Education instituted a moratorium on federal student loan repayments in March 2020, which has been extended on multiple occasions since. The pause on payments has saved millions of Americans from having to choose between paying their loans and paying for food or rent, and has proven to be massively popular.
It is clear that the moratorium has benefitted Americans and the economy. So why not think bigger? Under the Higher Education Act, the same statute President Biden has invoked to pause repayments, he has the authority to cancel federal student loan debt — and he should do so.
Student debt cancellation is good policy. It would lift multiple generations out of crushing debt and allow them to invest in themselves, their families, and our economy. And it is massively popular among Americans: almost two out of every three voters across the political spectrum support student loan cancellation.
New polling from Data for Progress and the Student Borrower Protection Center finds that a majority of voters support canceling all or some student loan debt. 25 percent agree that all student loan debt should be eliminated while an additional 38 percent say some student loan debt should be eliminated.
We’ve extended the moratorium twice now. The sky didn’t fall and our economy didn’t implode; on the contrary, Americans who found themselves with disposable income began putting it towards food, car payments, and housing, among other things, actually bolstering the economy in the process.
A third extension would be welcome. But we can’t keep slapping Band-Aids on a deepening wound. The cycle of indefinite postponement is as unsustainable as the debt itself. And if the country can afford to keep putting off these loan repayments, we can afford to cancel the debt altogether.
Student debt cancellation is a common-sense policy that is overwhelmingly popular with voters and would deliver real, meaningful relief for millions of Americans. President Biden has the power to get this done with the stroke of a pen, and it’s time for him to do so.
Mondaire Jones (@MondaireJones) represents New York’s 17th Congressional District.