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Some thoughts from a random nobody on ideas on how Biden could do student loan forgiveness, without alienating the non-college educated working class.
Some thoughts from a random nobody on ideas on how Biden could do student loan forgiveness, without alienating the non-college educated working class.
A blanket forgiveness of student loans is doomed to cause resentment. As everyone knows, the upper middle class would disproportionately benefit.
What Biden should do is it announce a targeted student loan forgiveness program. You don’t wanna make it too complex, but there are some easy targets.
Forgive student loans for people that went to community colleges, for-profit colleges, HBCUs, Small regional colleges, Hispanic serving colleges, etc...
These are the type of schools that the working class go to get a step up the social ladder.
These are the type of schools that the working class go to get a step up the social ladder.
The next group to target would be specific occupations. Teachers, firemen, lawyers that work in public service even, nurses, Doctors, maybe even engineers, I’m sure there’s many more. Positions that could be concretely tided to contributing to society.
The next group to target would be anyone who has had a loan for say 15-20 years. If they haven’t paid it back in that long, they never will. Because they’ve paid for at least some amount of time, it reduces the negative consequences of moral hazard.
The biggest problem is the most vocal people on the left, I’m talking to you Twitter, are not people that fall into this category. But they need something too.
But I would like to see is, a two or three year moratorium on student loan payments for college graduates.
But I would like to see is, a two or three year moratorium on student loan payments for college graduates.
This would enable these people to get established in their careers, but then pay back what they borrowed, capped a certain percentage of their income.
But this whole conversation is useless unless it is partnered with some sort of strategy for the future.
I was just talking to a friend who is putting his daughter through college. He is researching taking out a student loan for her, even though he doesn’t need to. Figures if they forgive student loans, it’s free money. If not, you’ll just pay it back in cash.
And if we come to expect college loan forgiveness every couple of years. Colleges are just going to raise their prices. Students are just going to borrow more money with the expectation that they don’t have to pay it back.
90% of what I have proposed, could be done with the so-called executive order that Biden may have the power of. I’m sure a litigation would delay it.
And the threat of doing 100% forgiveness for everybody, might be enough to bring the Republicans to the table for real reform.
