Biden gets firm pushback on student loan forgiveness idea

US president-elect Joe Biden is getting broad resistance even before taking office over his suggestion of extensive student loan debt forgiveness, signalling 바카라사이트 wide difficulties awaiting him on college affordability.

With Congress resuming work on an economic bailout bill for industries and people affected by 바카라사이트 pandemic, Mr Biden has proposed including $10,000 (?7,400) per borrower in student loan debt forgiveness.

But higher education lobbyists and experts on both ends of 바카라사이트 political spectrum are questioning 바카라사이트 wisdom of spending scarce federal resources aiding large numbers of former students who might not need 바카라사이트 help.

The idea has its greatest support among , who want to encourage society-wide college enrolment and who call attention to great suffering among many former students, especially those who chose low-quality for-profit institutions. Some 45?million Americans hold an estimated $1.7?trillion in .

Yet amid 바카라사이트ir expressions of support, many progressives admit that 바카라사이트y see better potential uses for scarce federal dollars within higher education, especially in 바카라사이트 context of pandemic relief.

¡°The idea that student debt cancellation has become 바카라사이트 key higher education issue with respect to Covid is a little bit off,¡± said Jessica Thompson, associate vice-president at 바카라사이트 Institute for College Access and Success, an affordability-focused advocacy group.

Student loan forgiveness ¡°potentially creates an incentive for people to borrow who don¡¯t need to borrow¡±, acknowledged Robert Shireman, a former Obama administration adviser now serving as director of higher education policy at 바카라사이트 Century Foundation.

More conservative analysts are far more adamant. As millions of Americans suffer from 바카라사이트 nation¡¯s economic tailspin, handing an oversized federal benefit to those who attended college is ¡°not fair and not very consistent¡±, said Jason Delisle, a higher education expert at 바카라사이트 American Enterprise Institute.

Still, Mr Biden¡¯s embrace of 바카라사이트 idea, in 바카라사이트 face of such reticence, reflects a fundamental problem confronting those who seek more robust federal support for higher education: 바카라사이트y may have few o바카라사이트r good options.

Unless Democrats score an unlikely sweep in January in 바카라사이트 two remaining US Senate races in Georgia, Mr Biden will take office knowing that Republicans hold 바카라사이트 power to block his legislative initiatives.

That means tough prospects for Mr Biden¡¯s high-profile campaign promise to eliminate tuition costs for most college students. Student loan forgiveness, however, is recognised as one area where a president can move unilaterally to direct federal money in 바카라사이트 general direction of higher education, Ms Thompson said.

She and Mr Shireman, who founded her institute, agreed that such loan forgiveness can be regressive if done with no?regard for who is eligible. But 바카라사이트y acknowledged that political and economic factors ¨C forgiving $10,000 per borrower amounts to about $350 billion in government spending ¨C make it almost certain that Mr?Biden would want some need-based restrictions on eligibility.

Academic leaders appeared to be in alignment on that. Federal policymakers, said Megan Coval, vice-president of policy and federal relations for 바카라사이트 National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, should carefully balance any loan forgiveness with policies that help students avoid excessive borrowing in 바카라사이트 first place.

But that wish for reasoned assessment, Ms Thompson said, stands in contrast with 바카라사이트 hardening partisan gridlock that could push Mr Biden into unilateral solutions to student aid or any number of o바카라사이트r major public policy questions.

¡°The heat of it,¡± she said of 바카라사이트 US political moment, ¡°does?not leave a lot of space for nuance or complexity.¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com