Several Democratic lawmakers have expressed their criticisms of United States President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness decision, with some arguing that it is sending the wrong message to the American people.
Ohio Democratic Senate nominee Tim Ryan on Sunday said that the decision was wrongly implying that everybody should have to go to college. He said that despite controlling the costs of college, the United States will be in the same position in five years.
Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness
On Wednesday, Biden said that his administration plans to forgive $10,000 in federal student-loan debt for borrowers earning under $125,000 per year. This could go up to $20,000 in relief for those who received Pell grants and fall under the same income threshold.
Following last week's announcement of student loan debt relief, Ryan said that the plan would benefit those who are "already on a trajectory to financial security." The Democratic lawmaker said that while the cost of college is "outrageous," the student loan forgiveness plan does not control the rising costs of higher education, as per Insider.
He followed up his remarks by arguing that a tax cut is the best decision to help every working American in the country. "So, if it's part of a broader package, we could certainly talk about it. That's why I think a tax cut for all working people or medical debt, which isn't directly linked to somebody who goes to college, I mean, I think we have got to have a broader package here," said Ryan.
On the other hand, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday pushed back on GOP members who called Biden's announcement unfair. He argued that Republicans previously turned a blind eye to government assistance in other sectors.
According to ABC News, Sanders criticized Republicans, saying that they did not say anything when the government decided to give massive tax breaks to billionaires. However, while Sanders agreed with Biden's student loan forgiveness idea, he added that he would go a step further by making public colleges and universities tuition-free to keep the U.S. "competitive in the global economy."
Helping Struggling Americans
Biden's student loan forgiveness plan would also continue the COVID-19 pause on federal student loans repayments, pushing it through December, with payments starting again in January.
Sanders, when pressed on the arguments of fairness and scope, said that while not everyone who needs help will benefit from the loan forgiveness, those in need of assistance with student debt should not be ignored. During an interview, he also renewed his long-standing calls to raise the minimum wage in the country, provide free healthcare, and lower the cost of prescription drugs.
The Vermont lawmaker's remarks come after Sen. Roy Blunt criticized Biden's plan and called it "monumentally unfair" to people who did not go to college or already paid off their loans, calling it "just bad economics."
In response to suggestions that economists do not believe the plan would increase inflation, Blunt said that these experts would be wrong in believing what Republicans are using as a key criticism of the student loan forgiveness program, Axios reported.
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