The Biden administration faces a gargantuan college debt crisis and there's no perfect solution

[TexasTowelie]

Last month, 238 organizations signed a letter to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, beseeching them to get rid of the enormous tab for federal college loan debt.

Ideally, the wipeout would happen on “Day One” of the new administration, though it would be a tough sell.

“Before the COVID-19 public health crisis began, student debt was already a drag on the national economy, weighing heaviest on Black and Latinx communities, as well as women,” wrote the groups representing civil rights advocates, consumers, labor, students, and more.

The organizations called for “bold and immediate action” to cancel existing debt, not only for student loan borrowers but also for less-noticed parent borrowers who took out “Parent PLUS” loans to help their kids go to college.

Read more: https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2020/12/30/the-biden-administration-faces-a-gargantuan-college-debt-crisis-and-theres-no-perfect-solution/

[Hortensis]

1. Not just "cancel," assume. We the People are responsible for allowing

students to be exploited by greedy lenders and corrupted colleges vying with each other for how much marble they could put down. Yes, it was mostly driven by business greed and fueled by a conservatism that not only doesn't value and respect higher education, but fears and wants to eliminate it for most.

But Americans allowed ourselves to be turned from a nation that sensibly and morally invested in students to one that made it legal to extort and swindle them. We did not vote to put an end to it when we realized what was happening. Negligent American taxpayers should end up assuming the kind of crushing debt that should never have been allowed.

May take a while. I'd love to turn a new, bold, hopeful page by doing it all immediately, but it may need to be "incremental." And relief may need to come various ways to help. Because another horribly bad thing we did was sit on our fingers and allow the election of corrupt Republicans who did their usual, but extra spectacularly this time, as they cleaned out our treasury. So much undone, so much broken, so many hurting and in need in so many way.

So many, many, many bills to pay. We can't even raise taxes on ourselves in a period of grave national crisis. Next week we'll know if we're going to be able to re-begin redistribution of national wealth stolen by the wealthy.

[MichMan]

2. How come the college industry never explains why costs have risen so astronomically ?

I can't imagine how much higher they will go once students are no longer responsible for paying them.

[abqtommy]

3. Let's not ignore the good that can be done now by waiting for a "perfect solution" that may never

materialize.