The Education Department planned to adjust how it calculates student loan payments to correct past errors, resulting in about 804,000 people balances erased.
This doesn’t fix everything, but perfection is the enemy of progress. This is worth celebrating if you care about non-wealthy Americans.
In the face of overzealous judicial rulings and zero help from Congress, this policy helps over 800,000 struggling, older Americans resolve long standing debt that they made payments on for 20 or 25 years.
These aren’t free loaders or wealthy individuals. Nor are they committing fraud to accept disaster loans aimed at keeping paychecks afloat.
They are former students. That’s it. Something that the US covers for K-12th grade as one of its earliest ground-breaking policies. The rest of the developed world took that through college, the US decided to create a bloated system of indentured servitude instead.
No, this doesn’t stop new borrowers from taking on loans. And it doesn’t stop education providers from overcharging. These are real problems that deserve attention.
But it is still a step showing that at least some federal officials care to try to resolve the issues plaguing some of those who did nothing more than try to improve their situation and gain valuable training with far reaching benefits.
GI Bill students still taking loans to get through school, while working full time. Source? Am one. It’s absolutely outrageous, the cost of both school and living.
“The borrowers involved in the plans targeted for the new forgiveness include those with Direct Loans or Federal Family Education Loans held by the department, including Parent PLUS loans. Many of the borrowers affected are likely 50 or older. About 9.2 million borrowers fall into this category.”
No research done outside of reading the article, but this line makes it seem like it will be mostly older people benefitting. Although the 9.2M number seems pretty high to be people mostly 50+. If that is the case, it’s hardly a win for a generation most affected by student loan debt.
Steps are great and all, and I would never argue against a step in the right direction. However, at some point, we need to raise the bar of expectation on federal officials past the smallest step of advancement reasonably possible. At this point we’ve heard how “we’re taking steps towards true universal healthcare” for some voters entire lives and while many, tiny, steps of advancement have been made we’re not too much closer to the goal being sold to us.
Long ramble short, If people are content with just a step and not a solution, even an advancing step, the government will try and wait out this issue for as long as possible. It’s not unjust to demand more given their history.
I hear you. Much bigger steps are needed and hopefully the younger generations who have been priced out of housing, hit with insanely low wage growth, and took out student loans to cover much higher education costs will start to obtain benefits sooner rather than later. They deserve it.
It doesn’t help me, my wife or anyone that I personally know in my peer group. No, it’s not nothing but it’s not at all what we meant when we asked for it and it’s certainly not enough. It is just enough, however, to say “well, we tried” and add this onto their list of accomplishments for the upcoming election.
I’m getting pretty tired of having to settle for literal scraps because the Democrats “tried really hard”.
No, and I don’t really care, either. The same people tell me to “figure it out” and “that’s just the way it is”, but I’m supposed to let these guys off the hook? Republicans never seem to have to make this argument about their party, why do the Democrats time and time again have to bend the knee to these idiots…they don’t.
I’m just frustrated. I have been with my party for what seems like a long time now. It’s always the Republicans fault, and I’m just getting a little tired of hearing it.
This doesn’t fix everything, but perfection is the enemy of progress. This is worth celebrating if you care about non-wealthy Americans.
In the face of overzealous judicial rulings and zero help from Congress, this policy helps over 800,000 struggling, older Americans resolve long standing debt that they made payments on for 20 or 25 years.
These aren’t free loaders or wealthy individuals. Nor are they committing fraud to accept disaster loans aimed at keeping paychecks afloat.
They are former students. That’s it. Something that the US covers for K-12th grade as one of its earliest ground-breaking policies. The rest of the developed world took that through college, the US decided to create a bloated system of indentured servitude instead.
No, this doesn’t stop new borrowers from taking on loans. And it doesn’t stop education providers from overcharging. These are real problems that deserve attention.
But it is still a step showing that at least some federal officials care to try to resolve the issues plaguing some of those who did nothing more than try to improve their situation and gain valuable training with far reaching benefits.
Really disingenuous to even use the word freeloader In a conversation about student loans. Wanting an education isn’t freeloading.
GI Bill students still taking loans to get through school, while working full time. Source? Am one. It’s absolutely outrageous, the cost of both school and living.
California had free public colleges until Reagan closed them because of Vietnam War protests. The war on woke has been fucking over everybody for a long time.
wtf
No research done outside of reading the article, but this line makes it seem like it will be mostly older people benefitting. Although the 9.2M number seems pretty high to be people mostly 50+. If that is the case, it’s hardly a win for a generation most affected by student loan debt.
Steps are great and all, and I would never argue against a step in the right direction. However, at some point, we need to raise the bar of expectation on federal officials past the smallest step of advancement reasonably possible. At this point we’ve heard how “we’re taking steps towards true universal healthcare” for some voters entire lives and while many, tiny, steps of advancement have been made we’re not too much closer to the goal being sold to us.
Long ramble short, If people are content with just a step and not a solution, even an advancing step, the government will try and wait out this issue for as long as possible. It’s not unjust to demand more given their history.
I hear you. Much bigger steps are needed and hopefully the younger generations who have been priced out of housing, hit with insanely low wage growth, and took out student loans to cover much higher education costs will start to obtain benefits sooner rather than later. They deserve it.
It doesn’t help me, my wife or anyone that I personally know in my peer group. No, it’s not nothing but it’s not at all what we meant when we asked for it and it’s certainly not enough. It is just enough, however, to say “well, we tried” and add this onto their list of accomplishments for the upcoming election.
I’m getting pretty tired of having to settle for literal scraps because the Democrats “tried really hard”.
Are you ignoring how often they were blocked by the other party?
No, and I don’t really care, either. The same people tell me to “figure it out” and “that’s just the way it is”, but I’m supposed to let these guys off the hook? Republicans never seem to have to make this argument about their party, why do the Democrats time and time again have to bend the knee to these idiots…they don’t.
I’m just frustrated. I have been with my party for what seems like a long time now. It’s always the Republicans fault, and I’m just getting a little tired of hearing it.
What’s the excuse for not having universal healthcare in places with dem super majorities like NY state ?