Unpopular Opinion – Biden’s Got It Wrong Over Student Loan Debt

A Think Piece By Junior Luke Sonderman or Luke Says

I’m going to start off the article by saying that I do not believe that people should have to spend their whole lives paying off student loans with ridiculous amounts of interest. But, is President Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness program a good solution to the problem? Absolutely not. Let me explain.

Forgiving current student loans may relieve financial stress off of current student debt holders, but there are many negative effects to the plan. 

Permanent Solution?

First of all, forgiving student loans is not a permanent solution. There are still millions of students taking on student loans in the United States every year. Instead of spending 400 billion on student-loan forgiveness, why doesn’t the government find ways to lower the cost of public college or spend the money on building new schools that will be more cost friendly? (forbes.com)

Inflation

In August, inflation was up 8.3% for 2022 (usinflationcalculator.com). The past two years have had record-breaking amounts of inflation in the U.S., especially due to government spending. Biden’s plan to circulate 400 billion more dollars into the US economy through student loan forgiveness will only increase inflation more (cnbc.com). 

Fairness

By awarding loan forgiveness to those who still are burdened by student loan debt, the government is not honoring the Americans who went through the same burdens and struggles, but fully paid off their debt in the past. If forgiveness is given, it should be given across the board to everyone who has had to pay student loans, no matter their circumstance. 

Free Education

At this point if student loan forgiveness is given to all people who carry or have carried student loans, then why not just make public post-secondary education free. Around 2% of taxes go to public schools (afterschoolalliance.org). Wouldn’t it make more sense to increase taxes and make college education free? 

Maybe my mind lives in a little idealistic world far off in wonderland, but Biden’s Forgiveness Plan really just seems like a short-term money spender to make people happy. It isn’t the long-term solution that we need in America.