For her birthday this year, Alicia Davis received one of the best gifts ever: word that roughly $20,000 (ВЈ14,500) of her student debt would be erased.
It’s a massive relief, resolving an issue that has drawn threats from debt collectors, raised questions in job interviews and ruined her credit, making it difficult to do things like buy a car.
The forgiveness came after the Department of Education in March agreed to fully cancel debts from borrowers, like Alicia, who had proven to officials that their schools had misled them about things like cost and employment prospects.
The move was among a series of steps the Biden administration has taken to address America’s rapidly mounting student debt, which hit $1.7 trillion (ВЈ1.2tn) last year. But he faces pressure from his party to do far more.
Top Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have called on the president to use his power to wipe out borrower debts up to $50,000.
The proposal would completely eliminate debts for more than 34 million people and could cost as much as $1tn by some estimates – https://getbadcreditloan.com/payday-loans-il/lisle/ as much as the country has spent on housing assistance over two decades.
For Washington, the embrace of such demands marks a striking change, as an idea advanced by anti-corporate greed Occupy Wall Street activists a decade ago – and resoundingly rejected by the Trump administration – moves to the heart of political debate. Continue reading “The student loan bubble ‘is going to burst’”