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.
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.
“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”.
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?
Oh fuck off with that shit. He tried to forgive 10 to 20k and it didnt work because the supreme court are a bunch of sociopaths and most of the stuff that would even have a chance of fixing the system would have to be done by congress.
Yeah, I mean the reality we need to not be lazy fuckers and rely on the president to fix this issue. These structural issues only get changed by our personal political actions. Call your representatives, donate time and/or money to political campaigns and organizations you belive in, find out ways to get involved. Some person or organization out there right now is probably trying to achieve something you think would make this place better to live. Stand with them. Do something, do anything, just dont bitch and be cynical online about how nothing is can ever be done. Does that attitude help you get anything done in your personal life?
Same. Stuff like this is about headlines and making lists of ‘accomplishments’ to point to later, but they never affect any real change.
I am literally banking on the 20-year IBR forgiveness not being fucked up in the next 15 years. There is no way I’ll pay the loans off at this rate, especially with the interest. The loan terms should be locked in as a worst-case scenario, at least, including forgiveness. These political games are ridiculous.
Now it will be interesting to see if these borrowers are hit with “tax bombs” upon forgiveness. If the forgiven amount is treated as income, like usual on debt forgiveness, it could mean they owe taxes on it come April next year. What are the chances that someone who’s been on an IBR plan has ~$20,000 in cash to pay a tax bill?
You’re absolutely not alone. Not by a long shot.
Many PPP loans were forgiven without being considered taxable income, so there is precedent and there are many excellent arguments in favor of applying this for students who successfully paid income-based payments for literally decades.
Hopefully progress against this incredibly dysfunctional system will keep happening. Would be nice to give the non-wealthy Americans a better chance at home ownership, retirement savings, and other crucial financial progress. Rather than just saddling them with federal debt while taxes are slashed for the wealthy.
As a millennial, I’ve all but given up on seeing any meaningful change in what remains of my life. I’m tired of living on hopeium that boomers will get the fuck out of positions of power so some of the very obvious lies the wealthy told them, of which was regurgitated and believed by them and us, can start to be fixed. They lied about everything from going to college to get a better job, to the TWO, “once in a generation” economic crashes, to the over-bloated military industrial complex, to a botched global pandemic, to the gaslighting about fossil fuels and global warming, I’m done. I just try find candidates and causes that seem to genuinely want change and throw what little extra money my wife and I have at them.
My hope is that the Gen-Z kids continue to not give a fuck about shaking up the system and use their superior knowledge of technology to finally out these dinosaurs in Congress and enact some real change. I just don’t have any fight left in me, especially after COVID and the very obvious lies being told, to our face this time, that COVID was no big deal, all so some wealthy boomer could eat in a restaurant and get their hair done.
I see this attitude reflected in many of my peers, too. It’s a generational burnout on life, and the best I can muster is to throw support behind those with fight left in them.
I’m tired of being tired, ya’ll…
Part of the American Rescue Plan specifically exempts amounts forgiven through 2025 – https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1319/text
Section 9675 (a):
`(5) Special rule for discharges in 2021 through 2025.-- Gross income does not include any amount which (but for this subsection) would be includible in gross income by reason of the discharge (in whole or in part) after December 31, 2020, and before January 1, 2026, of--
… blah blah federal college loans only. But the jist is, no, there’s no “tax bomb”, that’s a red herring.
Well they wouldn’t so they’d end up having to setup a payment plan with the IRS but that would still be better than the debt load. I’d rather owe 20k to the IRS than 100K in fed loans. At the end of the day it’s all money owed to Uncle Sam.
Personally though, I wouldn’t bank on IBR, I’d much rather consolidate my loans privately at a better rate and pay them off as quick as possible rather than pay a high interest rate to the fed in hopes that they forgive it one day. I understand that’s not an option for everyone though and some value the risk/reward differently.
You’re not wrong that private consolidation is great for those who can afford it, and I can see you acknowledge this doesn’t work for everyone. You seem quite reasonable about it.
But one of the biggest pain points for the entire student loan crisis is specifically those who truly can’t afford to get out of their debt.
For these struggling Americans, IBR plans aren’t being used as a savvy financial decision. It’s a lifeline. If that’s stripped from them, you’d see another wave of people who can’t afford basic necessities like housing. It’s sad that it even needs to be an option. And worse that for many, there’s no easy way out.
Next stop, free education.
We all benefit when everyone has access to higher education.
