Biden To Automatically Cancel $5.8 Billion In Student Loans For Over 300,000 Borrowers

[George II]

Biden To Automatically Cancel $5.8 Billion In Student Loans For Over 300,000 Borrowers

Source: Forbes

Aug 19, 2021,11:26am EDT

The Biden administration announced on Thursday that it will be automatically wiping out the federal student loan debt for 323,000 borrowers.

The administration will be cancelling borrowers’ federal student loan debt through the Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) discharge program. The TPD Discharge program allows student loan borrowers who are unable to maintain substantial, gainful employment due to a physical or psychological medical impairment to get their federal student loans cancelled. However, to get student loans forgiven under the program, disabled student loan borrowers must submit a formal application, which can be challenging for those facing serious health issues.

Advocates have long argued that the Department of Education has the ability and the authority to automatically grant TPD Discharges to disabled student loan borrowers who are receiving disability benefits through Social Security (provided that they have a disability review period of at least five to seven years). The Social Security Administration had previously identified hundreds of thousands of disabled student loan borrowers who would qualify for TPD discharges, and the agency has shared that information with the Department of Education, but the Department had not acted.

On Thursday, that finally changed, and the Department of Education will move forward in automatically discharging approximately $5.8 billion in federal student loans for disabled borrowers identified by the Social Security Administration as eligible. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona characterized the action as "in alignment with our strategies from day one to put our borrowers at the center of the conversation... Today's action removes a major barrier that prevented far too many borrowers with disabilities from receiving the total and permanent disability discharges they are entitled to under the law,” he said.

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamminsky/2021/08/19/biden-to-automatically-cancel-58-billion-in-student-loans-for-over-300000-borrowers/?sh=43cf89eb4487

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. It's a start.

[George II]

3. It's a continuation - he's already forgiven over $3B before this. But we never see.....

....Members of Congress acknowledging that this is happening and has been ongoing for at least a couple of month.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2021/06/16/biden-has-now-cancelled-3-billion-of-student-loans/?sh=3818125f540d

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2021/07/09/biden-cancels-55-million-of-student-loans/?sh=4ef91962679e

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. My comment was dry, because $5 billion is hardly a drop in the bucket.

[George II]

6. He probably won't forgive it all, nor should he.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. He should, but you're right.

[George II]

10. There is a member of Congress with net worth of close to $30M, should his student debt be forgiven?

He's not the only member of Congress with outstanding student debt. There are many, some as long ago as the early 90s.

Aside from that, how is it possible that anyone could have a college degree and student debt going back to the 90s, especially since tuition was a lot lower back then?

I'm all for some forgiveness, but it should be based on more than just the fact someone has such debt.

When we bought our house and took out a $200K 30-year mortgage. We worked our butts off and paid it off in less than 11 years. Student debt is no different.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

12. Sure.

Aside from that, how is it possible that anyone could have a college degree and student debt going back to the 90s, especially since tuition was a lot lower back then?

Part of the reason is they graduated in a recession and have gone through several major industry crashes (tech, construction, automotive/manufacturing) as well as another recession and real estate crash since then.

When we bought our house and took out a $200K 30-year mortgage. We worked our butts off and paid it off in less than 11 years.

This has a lot to do with hard work, and a lot to do with luck, as well. Some people have it, and some don't. Sometimes you make your own luck. Sometimes no matter what you do, it's the wrong thing.

[USALiberal]

15. Lol! Nt

[LanternWaste]

16. More of your decisive insight!

Truncated to the point of being... well, something. Or other.

If all the bug in all the worlds twixt earth and betelgeuse.


Archie knew a thing or two...

[USALiberal]

17. Fix your quote!

[LanternWaste]

19. Ain't gonna fix what ain't broken, pal.

"Provide evidence!!! nT!"

[USALiberal]

20. So basically I need to explain what is wrong with a quote you decided to use?? LOL......

Here you go:

"My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?"

And most people would provide the author (C.S Lewis), but I guess you want people to think you created it! LOL!

[LanternWaste]

21. I have no idea what you need to do. I simply want to see assertions supported with evidence.

Prophecies have no real place on DU... or in the world.

(maybe specify sig line next time and request formality in all posts... doing so may assist us both in avoiding wastes of time and derailing tactics for fun and profit)

[USALiberal]

22. Fix your quote!

[LanternWaste]

23. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, eh?

Seems rational.

[George II]

18. The recession of the '90s was over by March 1991, it lasted only 8 months. It was followed by....

....the longest period of economic growth in American history up to that time, including wage growth. Those who graduated in the early 90s entered the job market during a boom economy, not a recession.

Getting back to my point, if a person got a college degree in 1990 (average tuition was somewhere around $7-8K back then, lower at public colleges) yet hasn't been able to pay off his/her student debt after 31 years, what was the point in getting a college degree in the first place?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

24. The recession was certainly over on paper. But the jobs came back more slowly, which is why

it was known at the time as a jobless recovery.

If a person got a college degree in 1990 (average tuition was somewhere around $7-8K back then, lower at public colleges) yet hasn't been able to pay off his/her student debt after 31 years, what was the point in getting a college degree in the first place?

There are many reasons to get a college degree that go beyond earnings potential. As someone who got a liberal arts degree, I'm grateful for the learning. But when it comes to a degree "paying for itself" or "what is the point," that seems a question more about American capitalism in general, which is terribly unforgiving to people who change their minds, have revelations, or are the victims of cruel people or accidents or plain old bad luck.

[George II]

25. I'll give you until 1994, by then Clinton's policies had fully kicked in. So that leaves us....

....27 more years to pay off a piddling $30K debt (plus interest).

[WhiskeyGrinder]

26. I'm not quite sure what you're asking me to answer -- any individual person can have any

reason to not pay off a college loan in X amount of time. Getting hung up on why someone has or hasn't is as sad a use of time as deciding who is Totally and Permanently Disabled, and who isn't.

[George II]

27. There's no need to decide, President Biden has already done so.

[Aristus]

2. Excellent! Thank you, President Biden!

I paid all my student debt off for good a couple of months ago, but I'm thrilled for everyone who still has outstanding student debt. I was in a situation where I could pay my student loans without having to defer other household and living expenses. Not everyone can do that, even with a university degree. I'm so glad this is happening!

[Johnny2X2X]

5. Canceling it all ain't happening, but if it did, whoa.

If he canceled all student debt the boon to the economy would be incredible

Right now they're in rules committees in the DoE and they're likely going to implement better options to pay back. Specifically Biden wanted them to reduce the pay as you earn option from 10% of disposable income to 5%. Basically, your gross earnings minus 1.5 times the poverty income rate. This will half payments, and if they increase that 1.5 to 2.0 or 2.5 will more than halve payments.

[George II]

8. That's what they should do instead of blindly forgiving all debt.

[Johnny2X2X]

9. They already have the 10% PAYE option

But lenders and admins don't tell people about it. The 10% PAYE option means someone who makes $60K a year ends up paying $360 a month for 20 years, and then at the end of that 20 years if there's a balance, it's forgiven. 25 years for graduate school loans.

So when I hear people paying $1200 a month, I think they must not be away of the PAYE option or they're making $200K a year.

Dropping ti to 5% makes that $360, $180, it's life changing and tha'ts what Joe promised to do.

[JoanofArgh]

11. They need to fix the root cause of student loan problem. College doesn't have to be free but

affordable with interest free loans.

[MichMan]

13. No one wants to talk about that

Think it's expensive now, wait until students & parents aren't responsible for paying for it.

[USALiberal]

14. I hope there are refunds for students who busted there ass paying off their loan! Nt