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Biden offers student debt forgiveness

PARTIAL FORGIVENESS | Joe Biden’s announcement comes after months of internal debate within the government. (Photo/EFE)

UP TO 20 THOUSAND DOLLARS PER BENEFICIARY

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U.S President Joe Biden has announced that he will forgive part of the debt that millions of university students accumulated with the federal government in order to pay for their education. In a speech he gave at the White House announcing his move, Biden acknowledged that many students’ debt is “unsustainable” and that “the ticket to a better life” of having a higher education is “very expensive.” Biden offers student debt forgiveness

The president reported the cancellation of up to 10,000 dollars of debt per student, but this measure will only benefit those who earn less than 125,000 dollars a year or those who, in a married household, have an income of less than 250,000 dollars a year. In an attempt to help lower-income students, Biden also noted that $20,000 in debt incurred by recipients of Pell grants will be canceled.

Payments starting on January 2023

Pell grants benefit a large number of low-income Hispanic and African American students. In addition, the president once again extended the relief program created by his predecessor Donald Trump (2017-2021) at the beginning of the pandemic to pause student debt payments. Biden specified that payments will continue to be suspended until December 31, but warned that this is the last time the relief program will be extended.

The Department of Education asked Americans with student debt to prepare to face payments again starting in the new year. Biden stressed that his government can now support students after having helped those who needed it most during the crisis caused by the pandemic, and thus achieve a “fast and strong” recovery.

How is this paid?

In addition, he wanted to answer the recurring question that, according to what he said, he hears every time he takes a measure: “And how is this paid?” It is paid, he stressed, “thanks to what has been done” and specifically thanks to the reduction of the deficit, which was 350,000 million last year and is on its way to 1.7 trillion in 2022, the “greatest reduction in the deficit in one year in the history of the United States.

In addition, in a clear message to Republicans, Biden stressed that he does not intend to apologize for this measure in favor of the middle class, “much less those who supported a two trillion-dollar tax cut for large fortunes and corporations” during Donald Trump’s term. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren praised Biden’s decision.

Keeping a promise

Both Schumer and Warren had asked Biden to forgive students more than $10,000, since in some cases debts can exceed $100,000 and even $200,000. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) considers that the announcement is not enough and has recalled that the black community has been disproportionately affected by student debt.

Analysts consider that the timing of the decision can be interpreted as a nod to the young vote, just over two months before the legislative elections. However, debt forgiveness was one of Biden’s campaign promises. “Delivering on one of my campaign promises, my Administration is announcing a plan to give working and middle-class families some breathing room,” Biden said on his Twitter account.