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It's Your Week. A student loan forgiveness plan that's both 'welcome and jarring'

Sallee Ann Harrison   | Paste BN

👋 Sallee Ann here and welcome to Your Week, our newsletter exclusively for Paste BN subscribers (that's you!). 

My college education at Ohio State was made possible by my granddaddy Joe Hamilton. It's not a fact I choose to shout about too much because I recognize my privilege, but my granddaddy is a man I owe a lot to and want to honor.

Joe served in the Navy in World War II. Once back home, he started a decadeslong career with Procter & Gamble. He invested heavily in stocks and saved mightily. He was always planning for the future. I was lucky enough that my future intersected with his. I never had to worry about college loans.

Not everyone has the same story.

This week, we talk about the student loan forgiveness plan that will bring relief to 43 million Americans 

But first, don't miss these stories made possible with your Paste BN subscription:

A plan that's both 'welcome and jarring'

Delivering on a key campaign promise, President Joe Biden announced Wednesday he would cancel at least $10,000 in student loan debt for millions of borrowers, as well as $20,000 to Pell Grant recipients. 

Biden, who made the move using executive authority, said the cost of a college education has become exorbitant.

“That ticket has become too expensive for too many Americans," Biden said. "The burden is so heavy that even if you graduate, you might not have the ticket that graduating college once offered."

No one knows the state of today's higher education system better than education reporter Chris Quintana.

"Though rumors about President Biden canceling billions in debt for millions of borrowers had circulated for months, the expansiveness of the plan was still shocking," Quintana said. 

Borrowers that Quintana had spoken to over the last two-and-a-half years had grown cynical about the chance of widespread debt reduction. The last-minute extensions of the student loan payment pause had grown almost routine and debt forgiveness had seemed impossible, he said. Borrowers face roadblocks to wipe their loans out via bankruptcy, and existing government debt relief programs haven’t worked as advertised.

"To see the president decide that billions in debt would be canceled felt both welcome and jarring," he said. "As an education reporter, it has also been strange to see what had been a niche topic just a few years ago explode into the news cycle."

The world of student loans was certainly elevated when then-President Donald Trump first paused student loan payments in March 2020, Quintana said, but he had found in the past that people without student loans were ambivalent or uninterested in the topic.

Not so anymore.

The announcement sparked an onslaught of responses on social media from grateful borrowers, political supporters and opponents alike. 

There was also a noticeable wave of resentment from people who paid off their student loans in the past or who feel like it's just not enough.

"As questions swirl around how this relief will work, and how much it will cost, I am hoping the interest in how we finance the nation’s higher education system continues," Quintana said.

More stories on student loan forgiveness:

Thank you

I talked to a lot of subscribers about student loans this week in our texting campaign. I forwarded many questions to our Money and Education teams to help get you the answers you deserve. You make our work possible. We're here to make your lives easier. Thank you for letting us do what we do.

See you next week!

-Sallee Ann

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