Biden’s plan to forgive student debt

On November 17th Joe Biden, addressed some of the campaign promises  he’s made pertaining to student loan debt. Although he isn’t inaugurated yet, he has promised to forgive up to $10,000 of private, non federal student loan debt for each borrower. However, the average student loan debt is estimated to be about $47,000. President-elect Biden wants to simplify the student loan repayment process by defending the motion that borrowers can discharge their debt through bankruptcy. However, activist groups are pushing him to forgive more if not all of the $1.6 trillion student loan debt. Alongside loan forgiveness, he’d like to offer larger Pell Grants to help students that need financial assistance as well as extend the forbearance period previously set in place by President Trump and make public college tuition free. Decisions like these are pathing a way for those in need and helping to make higher education more affordable.

According to the Student Loan Planner, President-elect Biden has proposed to lower monthly payments so that people who make less than $25,000 yearly will not owe anything on their loans, nor will they collect interest on those loans. Anyone over $25,000 will pay 5%, but after 20 years of responsible repayment, the loan will be 100% forgiven. Everyone with new or existing loans are automatically enrolled in the program and are able to opt out if they please. Lastly, he plans on altering taxes so that all the debt forgiven through the plan is not taxed.

It’s unclear whether or not President-elect Biden is able to clear all student loan debt but he desires to get the issue under control during his time as president. However, with a few weeks left and no clear plan it would be comforting for him to commit to these promises that would be helping many.

Image: US Embassy Jerusalem via Flickr