# Thousands of dollars in student debt cancelled. Good news, right? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 24, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242 "2022-08-24T19:55:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/1 "2022-08-24T19:55:31Z")
I currently have zero debt at all. Not one penny of credit card, card payments, or even a mortgage. Furthermore, I’ve never had one cent of student loan debt. I fully support cancelling this debt for people to give essentially a tax break to the regular people instead of just to the super wealthy. I feel like very few people question how we’ll pay for corporate or mega-wealthy tax cuts and I am glad this one is going to people who need it. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/2 "2022-08-24T20:10:41Z")
I think it’s a good thing. Student loan debt is a huge drag on middle and lower income folks. I would have loved to have some amount of my student loan debt canceled, but I’m not going to begrudge people who get that now. If someone here says it will stoke inflation, it’s a tiny amount of money compared our economy. It just won’t. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/3 "2022-08-24T20:11:16Z")
I assume you’re talking about this? > **[Live updates: Biden announces student loan forgiveness plan](https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/student-loan-forgiveness-joe-biden/index.html)** > > President Biden announced his plan Wednesday to forgive the student loan debt of some borrowers. Follow here for the latest live news updates and reactions. I hadn’t heard that this was in the works until you prompted me to google for a cite. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/4 "2022-08-24T20:15:35Z")
" Borrowers [who hold loans](https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/politics/biden-student-loan-debt-forgiveness-10k/index.html) with the Department of Education and make less than $125,000 a year are eligible for up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness if they obtained Pell Grants for college. Individuals who make less than $125,000 a year but did not receive Pell Grants are eligible for $10,000 in loan forgiveness." $125,000 a year? This is crazy. Those people are very well off. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/5 "2022-08-24T20:16:13Z")
According to some right wing sites, cancelling student debt is a disasterous move because it helps the poor. Not like tax breaks for the wealthy which is always the wisest choice. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/6 "2022-08-24T20:17:37Z")
It’s not clear to me what “forgiveness” means. Sure, the student borrower doesn’t have to pay the forgiven amount. But a loan is a two-way agreement. What happens to the lender? Does the bank that made the loan get paid off by the Feds? Or do they take a loss? ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/7 "2022-08-24T20:19:42Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > $125,000 a year? This is crazy. Those people are very well off. Have you seen housing costs in many parts of the U.S. lately? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/8 "2022-08-24T20:28:05Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > What happens to the lender? The lender is the Feds or is guaranteed by the Feds (for older loans). So, either the Fed make an accounting entry lowering the size of the loan or they pay the bank that wrote the Federally-guaranteed loan. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/9 "2022-08-24T20:31:05Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I currently have zero debt at all. Not one penny of credit card, card payments, or even a mortgage. Furthermore, I’ve never had one cent of student loan debt. I have no debt, either. I did once have student loans, but I paid them off. I will note that I did that 30+ years ago when the rules of the game and the playing field were different. I think student loan forgiveness as presented here is a great idea and fully support it. > [@PastTense](#): > > $125,000 a year? This is crazy. Those people are very well off. Depends on where you live and how many dependents you have. If you live in New York City or LA or Chicago (which tens of millions of people do) then no, it’s not as much as it used to be. Especially if you have tens of thousands of dollars in debt. > [@Pleonast](#): > > It’s not clear to me what “forgiveness” means. Sure, the student borrower doesn’t have to pay the forgiven amount. But a loan is a two-way agreement. What happens to the lender? Does the bank that made the loan get paid off by the Feds? Or do they take a loss? These are Federal student loans. The Federal government is the bank in this case. Yes, that means it ultimately comes out of our tax money. I’m OK with that. I doubt it raises my personal taxes even as much as a penny. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/10 "2022-08-24T20:34:34Z")
This is what it looks like over at Fox News: [![](https://i.imgur.com/IveN4nw.png) ](https://i.imgur.com/IveN4nw.png) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/11 "2022-08-24T20:38:34Z")
I may have gone to a cow college in flyover country, but I finished a degree without any debt. Why should people who made good choices pay higher taxes, to bail out a bunch of people whose fancy Ivy League educations didn’t include basic arithmetic? Why should plumbers and carpenters pay higher taxes, to pay off the student loans of doctors and lawyers? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/12 "2022-08-24T20:39:06Z")
Well, I’m sure they did something similar when Trump did the same thing with the giant corporate tax rate reduction. Hold your breath while I look for a cite. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/13 "2022-08-24T20:39:48Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Why should plumbers and carpenters pay higher taxes, to pay off the student loans of doctors and lawyers? Haha! I’m seeing almost this exact wording all over right-wing places. Well done! ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/14 "2022-08-24T20:41:13Z")
The right-wing places have a point. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/15 "2022-08-24T20:43:11Z")
Oh, sorry, I thought that was parody. There are all kinds of transfers. Why should plumbers and carpenters pay for a giant corporate tax reduction just so some CEO can get another yacht? Why should Ps and Cs pay for Pell Grants or Medicaid or Medicare or Social Security or farm subsidies or military pork or energy subsidies or etc., etc. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/16 "2022-08-24T20:44:12Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Why should plumbers and carpenters pay higher taxes, to pay off the student loans of doctors and lawyers? How many fancy Ivy League doctors and lawyers do you know that are making under $125k? When come back, bring actual concerns. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/17 "2022-08-24T20:44:16Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I may have gone to a cow college in flyover country, but I finished a degree without any debt. Do you think that most people that go to “cow colleges” graduate without debt and it’s only those in the Ivy League schools that have the debt? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/18 "2022-08-24T20:46:02Z")
I have paid off my loan debt and have no problem with this. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/19 "2022-08-24T20:49:48Z")
Another college graduate here who paid off every dime of my own student debt myself, and heartily approve of this loan forgiveness program for easing the financial crunch on people with heavier loan burdens than mine ever were. The right-wing commentariat bleating about how people with student debt just don’t understand “basic arithmetic”, and how the forgiveness program will be primarily poor working-class people shouldering the debt burdens of “doctors and lawyers”, are just making up grievances to inflame and misinform their base. As usual. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242/20 "2022-08-24T20:51:01Z")
When you shield people from the consequences of bad decisions, you encourage more people to make more bad decisions in the future. When you enable people to enroll in overpriced schools without any consequences, you encourage the schools to raise their prices endlessly. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thousands-of-dollars-in-student-debt-cancelled-good-news-right/970242.md?page=2)