Biden faces progressive backlash over refusal to cancel $50,000 in student loans
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
President Joe Biden is facing backlash for rejecting a proposal to cancel $50,000 in student debt and stating point-blank, "I will not make that happen."
During a CNN town hall on Tuesday, an attendee asked Biden about Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren's proposal to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student debt per borrower.
"It depends on whether or not you go to a public university or a private university," Biden said.
The president said doesn't want to forgive the debts of people who attended elite schools such as Harvard and Yale who often go on to make high salaries and added that he would instead prioritize childhood education for disadvantaged communities.
"I'm prepared to write off $10,000 debt, but not 50, because I don't think I have the authority to do it by signing" an executive order, Biden said.
The president further said that families who make less than $125,000 and whose kids go to a state university should attend for free. He also expressed support for repaying debt as a portion of one's salary
However, his comments led to intense criticism.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke out against Biden's comments, tweeting, "Who cares what school someone went to?"
She argued generations of working-class kids are "encouraged to go into more debt under the guise of elitism," adding, "This is wrong."
She added that early childhood education doesn't have to come as a trade-off to student loan forgiveness. "We can have both," she said.
Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley also joined the conversation, claiming Biden does have the authority to cancel student debt "with the stroke of a pen."
"He can and must use it. The people deserve nothing less," she said.
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar similarly called out Biden, saying, "We also need to make college tuition-free so debt is not accumulated moving forward and invest in universal early education. These are not at odds!"
On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki noted that Biden has previously said that any relief above $10,000 should be targeted based on the borrower's income, the kind of debt in question, whether the school is public or private and if it is for undergraduate or graduate education.
"If Congress moves forward and sends him a package that, you know, provides $10,000 of student debt relief, he'd be eager to sign that," Psaki said.
Schumer and Warren piled on the pressure and issued a joint statement Wednesday, urging Biden to cancel up to $50,000 in debt.
"An ocean of student loan debt is holding back 43 million borrowers and disproportionately weighing down Black and Brown Americans," the statement said.
"Presidents Obama and Trump used their executive authority to cancel student loan debt," the statement continued.
"The Biden administration has said it is reviewing options for cancelling up to $50,000 in student debt by executive action, and we are confident they will agree with the standards Obama and Trump used as well as leading legal experts who have concluded that the administration has broad authority to immediately deliver much-needed relief to millions of Americans."
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Do these folks think that everything should be made free?
Well it's not like Biden's going to create any Jobs.
Oh boy, he's got AOC on his ass!
Thank God for a president who is committed to a moderate position, even against some in his own party.
Huh, compromise and negotiations?! Who’d of thunk it!
Doesn't really sound like the Democrats in the article are very interested in any compromise.
Or negotiations.
The Squad has spoken1
So be it!
I'm cool with it!
Let the progressives and moderates within the party duke it out to see if they can come up with a number that they can agree upon that they can pass on their own. We know that Trumpists aren't worth the time to negotiate with, so get to a number that all the dems can get behind and pass it with a 50+VP vote. Otherwise, move on to the next topic.... Like infrastructure.
Exactly Larry. I think that most people will be happy that he is standing his ground on this.
When did Obama and Trump cancel student debt? I've still got mine.
They borrowed the money, got the chance to benefit from the money and need to pay all the money back. Why should the taxpayer (me) pay for this?
Will Biden pay off $10,000 or $50,000 of debt for me? or just cancel my taxes this year?
Life isn't always fair is it? I would think any parent wouldn't want their children saddled with debt for many many years.
We shouldn't.
Will they pay off my mortgage? It takes up a large share of my income!
Biden should not forgive any student debt IMO. This does nothing to fix the underlying problem and is only a band-aid solution. If student debt is forgiven, I believe colleges will just look at it as another opportunity to raise tuition rates faster as they know even more people will be willing to borrow even more money in the future as the precedent has been set. Washington created the problem when they first got involved. Now the only way for them to truly fix things is to either back out completely (allowing the current crop to flounder and possibly fail) or take the entire process over and own it from kindergarten thru graduate school.
She argued generations of working-class kids are "encouraged to go into more debt under the guise of elitism," adding, "This is wrong."
Funny, I thought the same thing when Obama was making his big push to expand college access. Apparently, everyone kissing his ass then ignored the elephant in the room. Who is going to pay for all of this access?
I don't know what to do about the current excessive student debt, but I suspect without a booming economy these "loans" are going to have a detrimental impact on US economy for decades to come as these folks will not be able to afford to buy homes or live much above poverty should they marry and have children. Do we really need more hungry children and welfare recipients?
State and community colleges should be free for US residents who pass entrance exams. I have no issue with a minimal GPA of 2.0 or even 2.5 for free tuition. Secondary schools should not be used as adult daycare.
Private institutions of higher learning should not be subsidized with taxpayer money.
The US society and economy will benefit from a well-educated workforce and populace.