24 August 2022

Meh

There's a lot of ink today about Joe Biden's plan to forgive $10,000 (20K for Pell Grant recipients) in student debt.

I am not particularly impressed.

It's not enough, and means testing makes it likely that the Department of Education will do its level best to exclude as many people as possible.

On the other hand, it might get a few votes in November, which is what this is REALLY about:

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced it was canceling up to $10,000 of student debt for millions of people and up to $20,000 of debt for low- and middle-income borrowers who previously received a Pell Grant.

The loan relief will be limited to borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year or families earning less than $250,000. In addition, the White House plans to extend the moratorium on monthly payments and interest for a “final time” through Dec. 31.

In a speech at the White House on Wednesday, Biden talked about the rising cost of attending college in the U.S., and the overwhelming burden this places on low- and middle-income Americans.

“An entire generation is now saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for an attempt, at least, at a college degree,” Biden said. “The burden is so heavy, even if you graduate, you may not have access to the middle-class life that the college degree once provided. Many people can’t qualify for a mortgage to buy a home because of the debt they continue to carry.”

Half measures and means testing.  It's like moderate Democrats are determined to make sure that anything that they do to improve people's lives is as painful as possible.

1 comments :

Quasit said...

And they have to be dragged to it kicking and screaming all the way.

Post a Comment