Student Loan Borrowers Who Still Owe More Than They Borrowed (After Paying For A *Long* Time) Are Not Thrilled With The Latest Report

No one wants to talk about student loans. It’s a depressing subject, but people have (long ago) reached the point where they have to talk about student loans, and this probably shouldn’t happen the way that Marco Rubio once did (by only wanting to forgive loans for people who survive terror attacks) or the way that Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos did it (by almost delighting in how screwed people feel by the system). Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders continue to push for total cancellation of student loans, but everyone knows that won’t happen. However, President Biden is about to announce something, and we’ll likely hear about this plan within a few days.

As the current memoriam is set to expire on August 31, NBC News reports that Biden is prepared to announce what people essentially expected to hear. That would be a $10,000 trim off balances for those federal borrowers whose incomes don’t exceed $125,000. Reportedly, Biden will also extend the moratorium through midterm elections, but (obviously) none of this is set in stone until Biden makes the announcement.

True, this outcome is better than no forgiveness at all, and an extension on the due date will help Americans during a time of ridiculous inflation, but people cannot help but feel disappointed. Their disappointment sources from the predatory terms of these loans, and so many people are sharing how this isn’t simply a matter of “you pay what you borrowed plus some reasonable interest.” In fact, a lot of people have been paying (on time) for several years, or over a decade, or even longer, and they still owe more than they borrowed despite the payments stretching them to the limits.

This is disappointing and heartbreaking, but there’s at least some collective awareness that comes from sharing these stories, along with hearing how underwhelmed people feel by the reported upcoming announcement:

https://twitter.com/I_am_Just_Blunt/status/1559620331924504578

(Via NBC News)