Student Debt Forgiveness: Helpful or Harmful?

 Hello!

Welcome to the first post of Political Round-up!

As a reminder, I am reviewing two or more articles about the same topic, at least one from a knowingly left-wing source and at last one from a knowingly right-winged source. My goal is to find any bias between the two and to give readers access to sources that they can use to fully educate themselves on current issues in America.

I found two news articles about student debt forgiveness under the Biden administration. I am exited to share with you what I found and how different the perspectives are. Lets start with what this debt forgiveness plan is.

This debt forgiveness was promised by President Biden as a way to cushion some financial blow in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as acknowledging the raising costs of college. Those who will benefit would be low and middle-income borrowers, covering $10,000-$20,000 of student loans if the household makes less than $125,000 annually.

Now let's get into it..

On BuzzFeed News, you can find 3 articles on the front page talking about Biden's plan. One was released on August 24th 2022 and goes into great detail the impact this can have on those who will benefit. 

The article, by Elamin Abdelmahmoud, starts out by simply saying "it's the right thing to do". The piece goes on to mention statistics about the raising costs of college and the burden that loans can have on someone. 

    "For people who have long suffered under the weight of long-standing student loans, any relief is             welcome. About 45 million Americans have federal student debt, and than to staggering increases in     education costs and poor wage growth, the conditions for repaying debt have worsened.     This has         made the reality of student debt the defining fact of many people’s lives." (Abdelmahmoud,2022).

This article really takes a turn after a quote from Mitch McConnel, who is a Republican Senate Minority Leader. He says that this plan is a "slap in the face" for those who have already paid their debt. Abdelmahmoud's response is opposed to McConnell, saying, "A mass student loan forgiveness scheme is an essential policy correction to a worsening social crisis." He goes on to explain that student loans are responsible for the younger generation struggling to stay afloat financially and make it into a more stable middle-class bracket. 

More on, Abdelmahmoud says that the need for a college degree has decreased and implies that college is now more expensive than what its worth is. 

    "That’s not to say college has ceased being a door to better jobs altogether — just that the cost of the     promise is so high that many people with good jobs on paper find themselves repaying student loans     so expensive that they don’t reasonably have a chance to pay them off ever." 

The end of this article emphasizes that this plan was designed to help those who need it, not those who could comfortably pay the costs of tuitions. That college was a dream that no longer exists and this is only fair to those who believed in it. 

On the other hand..

National Review released an article just today on the downsides that Biden's plan has and the negative outcomes of it. Let me just say that this article is VERY politically charged and is somewhat intense to read through. It is filled with quotes and criticisms, making the views of this journalist clear.

What I found interesting was the use of quotations around "forgive", strongly implying that it is not forgiveness at all. Following that, there is a quote from Representative Jared Golden that gives a look into what the House has to say about the plan.

Golden says this plan is “out of touch with what the majority of the American people want from the White House, which is leadership to address the most immediate challenges the country is facing.”

The following are other quotes that further the possible damage done by this plan. Considering this article is mostly compiled of quotes, I thought this would be easier than me explaining them in my words.

    “While there’s no doubt that a college education should be about opening opportunities, waiving debt     for those already on a trajectory to financial security sends the wrong message to the millions of        Ohioans without a degree working just as hard to make ends meet,” -Tim Ryan

    “While immediate relief to families is important, one-time debt cancellation does not solve the                 underlying problem,” -Tim Ryan

    Representative Chris Pappas called the executive order “no way to make policy” saying Biden’s             action “sidesteps Congress and our oversight and fiscal responsibilities.”(Bernstein, 2022).

    “'People think that the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does             not.  He can postpone. He can delay. But he does not have that power. That has to be an act of                 Congress,” Pelosi said at the time."

The only other thing mentioned by the journalist themselves is that this plan is estimated to be $300 billion. 

To round this all up..

News is inherently suppose to be unbiased. However, I do not think that is what news is today. The current political climate makes people choose sides, regardless of previous rules and guidelines. By a simple Google search, I was able to find MANY articles on this topic, almost all leaning one way or another.

So, what do you think? Should it be okay for news sources to have a bias? Would it be better for the public to receive unbiased information in order to make authentic decisions? Is one article right or wrong in their thoughts of Biden's plan?

Please connect with me through my twitter to share any thoughts or any ideas of topics I should review next!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mddoespolitcs

Citations:

Abdelmahmoud, Elamin. “It Took Me 10 Years to Pay Back My Student Loans. No One Else Should Have to Go through That.” BuzzFeed News, BuzzFeed News, 24 Aug. 2022, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/elaminabdelmahmoud/biden-student-loan-forgiveness.

Bernstein, Brittany. “'Out of Touch': Moderate Democrats Come out against Biden's Student-Loan 'Forgiveness'.” National Review, National Review, 25 Aug. 2022, https://www.nationalreview.com/news/out-of-touch-moderate-democrats-come-out-against-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness/.