Biden again rejects $50,000 student loan debt forgiveness plan pushed by other top Democrats

[Wicked Blue]

CNN
By Katie Lobosco, CNN

)President Joe Biden made it clear during Tuesday night's CNN town hall that he disagrees with other members of his party who want to cancel $50,000 of student debt per borrower.

"I will not make that happen," Biden said after a member of the audience said his proposal to cancel $10,000 per borrower doesn't go far enough.

But top Democratic congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, are calling on Biden to cancel $50,000 per borrower. Dozens of Democrats reintroduced a bicameral resolution earlier this month urging Biden to take action, arguing that he has the executive power to do so.

Biden argues that the government shouldn't forgive debt for people who went to "Harvard and Yale and Penn" -- and he's also indicated that he believes Congress should make changes through legislation, which would make them harder to undo

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/16/politics/student-loan-forgiveness-biden/index.html

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. The "Harvard/Yale/Penn" argument makes no sense -- there are PLENTY of students who attend those

schools and need federal loans to finish their degree at them. Or worse, they don't finish, and still have the loans. Is that the only reason he likes $10K more than $50K or complete forgiveness?

[Bettie]

2. Hopefully, they will find a point of agreement between the two numbers

Also, I don't know what he thinks tuition costs, but in-state tuition at state universities can get you over 50k in debt these days.

[NurseJackie]

3. I trust Joe Biden. He knows what he's doing.

[samnsara]

5. same here.. i spent 4 effing years micro managing trump in my mind...

...I am willing to let Joe take that burden from me and leave me to concentrate on my doggies and grand kiddos.



carry on joe.. i wont pretend to know better than you.

[mcar]

4. I think Joe and Kamala are well equipped to deal with all the aspects

of this economic crisis. We all may not get everything we want, but the country is in a much better place.

[Fiendish Thingy]

6. Let Congress pass Biden's free college legislation...

And add on $50k in debt relief.


Joe’s main objection seems to be around the limits of debt forgiveness via EO.

If Congress passed a law with $50k debt relief, I bet Joe would sign it.

[dutch777]

7. This is a very interesting national debate. Where should we start and stop college funding support?

I think about a friend who had plenty of money to send his kids to any school they wanted but when one wanted to go into Parks and Rec as a major and cited the career goal of being a camp counselor for life, mom and dad balked when the college she chose was a high ranking private college with $40k/ year in tuition in a city expensive to live in. The argument that a good liberal education has value to society has proven merits over the last century. But when the big paychecks and business interests mostly only value very niche and highly technical degrees, when should mom/dad, or we the people, fund that anthropology or archeology degree that statistically has little support in the marketplace and benefit to greater society is hard to measure at best? Do we put a quota on it and say we'll only support X degrees in this major per year or only support high demand/need majors or what? And do we put a low dollar limit on less in demand degrees and maybe fund higher demand degrees more generously. Given the dollars involved, and the continued value of college education beyond the mere degree major, this discussion is worth having beyond the simple debt relief component we are talking about now.

[Desert grandma]

8. I hope he will reconsider this position.

10K will not even cover one year of tuition and books at a public state school. I sent him a message on the WH website and shared my opinion. 50K would cover many people's student debt. 30K would even be closer, but 10K? I think it has been a while since he has had any dealings with college tuition and book fees. I really do hope Warren and Schumer will open his mind to the present day realities of student debt. Forgiveness of these loans would lift this burden from so many Americans and also add to the economic growth of the economy.

[JustAnotherGen]

9. Follow up

With your house rep and Senators