Crazy how much shit can change up on you in literally the span of a week. Things that sounded out of the realm of possibility now seem like very real solutions. Take, for example, canceling student loan debt.
Senator and former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, writing for MTV News, calls for the next coronavirus bill to include measures to cancel student loan debt for millions of Americans. While the pandemic is the immediate concern right now, the economic ramifications are a source of concern with many. We’re seeing closures and job losses at an unprecedented level and debt cancellation could provide some serious financial relief for those most in need, particularly black and Latinx citizens.
From MTV:
The burden of student debt is also not distributed equally across all Americans: it disproportionately burdens Black and Latinx students. Black students are on average nearly 20 percentage points more likely to take out federal student loans. Half of Black borrowers and a third of Latinx borrowers default on their loans within 20 years. Canceling student loan debt would increase wealth for Black and Latinx families and help them avoid default.
This has long been a policy position Warren has held. It was one of the main pillars of her presidential campaign. The measures she presents would cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt for Americans who need it. While it has long been called unrealistic and unfair to those who paid off their debt, given the rather unprecedented set of circumstances, debt relief may just be one of the things needed to ease the financial burden millions of Americans are facing. This could be a positive not just for now but for the future.
Once the current craziness subsides, debt relief could free folks up to buy a house, perhaps a car, ball out on the new Xbox or maybe even just buy that pair of Travis Scott Jordan IVs they’ve been eyeing for almost two years now. Congress is currently working on drafting the next stimulus package for Americans so who knows, in a few weeks’ time you might be able to curve Navient.