Everyone knows someone that’s struggling post pandemic. And, you know, if we help folks in the communities so that they – reduce the chances of them going into default, everybody wins. It helps the economy.–Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona
From the governor’s letter:
As governors, we support making higher education more affordable and accessible for students in our states, but we fundamentally oppose your plan to force American taxpayers to pay off the student loan debt of an elite few…
Those eligible for relief are not “an elite few.” The idea that individual American taxpayers will “pay off student loan debt” is false. If the governors have a plan for making higher education affordable, the letter doesn’t mention it.
“College may not be the right decision for every American, but for the students who took out loans, it was their decision: able adults and willing borrowers who knowingly agreed to the terms of the loan and consented to taking on debt in exchange for taking classes,” the letter states. “A high-cost degree is not the key to unlocking the American Dream—hard work and personal responsibility is.”
The governor’s answer may be to skip college, if you can’t afford it.
Ayana Archie writes:
It (the letter) further argues that it is unfair to those who previously already paid off their student loans.
This is a silly argument: Helping those in need isn’t unfair to those lucky enough to not need help.
The governors also expressed concern that the forgiveness plan could encourage higher education institutions to drive up their costs, and therefore worsen inflation.
These Republican governors spread fear of inflation, but give no evidence that loan forgiveness would have any undesirable consequences. Some Republican governors didn’t sign the letter.
