Student loan forgiveness of $50,000 gets a renewed push.
Here’s what you need to know — and what it means for student loans.
Student Loans
As President Joe Biden considers student loan forgiveness for millions of student loan borrowers, a new report sent to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) shows how $50,000 of student loan forgiveness could yield significant benefits. Here are the key findings:
- $50,000 of student loan forgiveness: 30 million borrowers would have no student loan debt.
- $40,000 of student loan forgiveness: 28 million borrowers would have no student loan debt.
- $30,000 of student loan forgiveness: 24 million borrowers would have no student loan debt.
- $20,000 of student loan forgiveness: 20 million borrowers would have no student loan debt.
- $10,000 of student loan forgiveness: 13 million borrowers would have no student loan debt.
Warren and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who both have championed up to $50,000 of student loan forgiveness, are still pushing Biden to cancel that amount of student loan debt for millions of student loan borrowers. Civic and social organizations have joined in the fight to encourage Biden to consider a higher amount of student loan cancellation. According to the latest student loan debt statistics, there are 45 million student loan borrowers who collectively owe $1.7 trillion of student loan debt. Therefore, canceling $50,000 of student loans would cancel all federal student loan debt for the vast majority of student loan borrowers. In contrast, the U.S. Department of Education has said $50,000 of student loan forgiveness would eliminate all federal student loan debt for 36 million student loan borrowers.
Student loan forgiveness: key benefits of $50,000 of student loan cancellation
According to researchers from Princeton and the University of California, who conducted this analysis, there are multiple other benefits of higher amounts of wide-scale student loan forgiveness. This includes, but is not limited to:
- $50,000 of student loan forgiveness would help 95% of student loan borrowers who are in student loan default or student loan delinquency;
- More student loan cancellation overwhelmingly benefits lower-wealth student loan borrowers because wealthier individuals rarely borrow or pay off student loan debt faster; and
- Canceling $50,000 of student loans will reduce disparities and inequalities substantially.
When it comes to student loan forgiveness, the authors argue that more student loan cancellation is better for advancing equity and economic security. Opponents of student loan forgiveness beg to differ, citing the potential cost of $1 trillion to cancel $50,000 of student loans for borrowers. They also note that potentially millions of student loan borrowers could be excluded from Biden’s student loan forgiveness.
Will Biden cancel $50,000 of student loans?
Will Biden cancel $50,000 of student loans? Biden has now canceled $25 billion of student loans. The White House denied a report that the president has made a final decision on whether to cancel student loans. This has raised new hope among progressives and advocates for student loan forgiveness. Biden, however, has supported $10,000 of student loan cancellation. As the authors argue, $50,000 of student loan forgiveness would have monumental social and economic benefits for student loan borrowers. Biden has said he won’t cancel $50,000 of student loans for borrowers. That said, with consumers facing high inflation, record gas prices, a struggling stock market and economic uncertainty, Biden could reconsider and cancel up to $50,000 of student loan debt for borrowers. As the president decides next steps, invest the time to consider your next move for student loan repayment. Even if the president cancels student debt, you may not qualify or you could have student loan debt remaining. Therefore, consider all your options to get out of debt and save money. Here are some popular ways to conquer student loan debt:
Student Loans: Related Reading
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2022/06/04/student-loan-forgiveness-would-cancel-student-loans-for-this-many-borrowers/