This article was written by Marisa Powers and Tasha Khosla.
Introduction
On August 24, President Joe Biden announced his three-part plan to reduce student debt for low-middle class working families to “provide more breathing room” as they recover from the pandemic. Biden’s goals are to make the loan system more manageable for borrowers and confront the growing cost of a college education.
Campus Conservative, Marisa Powers
In my view, Biden’s Loan Forgiveness Plan creates more problems than it solves. It will without question raise the national debt. And with the inflation rate already being at a forty-year high, 59% of Americans are worried this will only make it worse according to a survey from CNBC. His administration has also declined to address how they plan to cover all the debt because it is clear that it will be on the shoulders of taxpayers, costing upwards of $500 billion. Also, student loan forgiveness is an incentive for universities to raise their tuition, as students can take out large loans that will later be forgiven.
It is worth noting that Biden does not have the power to cancel student debt. In 2021, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stated, “He can postpone, he can delay, but he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress.” The Justice Department said that the HEROES Act of 2003 gives the administration “sweeping authority” to reduce or eliminate student debt during a war or national emergency, the pandemic being the emergency they’re using to justify his plan. It became law while US troops were fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan to relieve soldiers from the burden of loans. However, using this act to justify the loan forgiveness is seen as an overreach by some, even members of Biden’s own party.
Biden and his administration should be taking action to decrease inflation and lower taxes for the American people, not creating ostensible solutions that add to these problems.
Campus Liberal, Tasha Khosla
There is no doubt that college debt is an issue in America due to the disproportionate rise in cost of attendance and job pay for young Americans. While Biden’s plan to erase existing debt is a step in the right direction, the reasons for this mountainous debt are the real issues that need to be addressed.
While Biden’s plan does focus on the working class and low-income students, it still does not decrease the actual cost of attending college. Institutions of higher education are businesses; they seek to earn money in order to fund the programs and needs of the institution. As a result, college costs of attendance are high, with the average cost of a four-year U.S. college education being $35,551 per student, per year. These costs include “books, supplies, and daily living expenses.” However, these costs vary across state lines depending on whether a student is paying in-state or out-of-state tuition and if the institution is private or public. Arguably, erasing up to $20,000 in student debt is not enough to make the financial hardships of attending college disappear. Especially since it is possible that colleges will raise rates to combat the inflation that will inevitably occur, although the extent of inflation’s impact is yet to be agreed upon by economists.
Ultimately, this plan is a temporary solution to a larger issue. Going forward, the Biden Administration needs to examine why student loan debt is so immense in order to properly ease the burden higher education inflicts upon students and graduates.
Conclusion
Both sides agree that the Biden administration should take other steps to solve the issue of student loan debt.
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