NYT Student Debt Editorial, Annotated by the Debt Collective
The New York Times wrote an opinion about student debt. This opinion is a bad one. It’s so bad, we annotated it. Our edits are bolded, and in all caps.
NYT Opinion | Student Debt Is Crushing. Canceling It Is Still Bad Policy.
The astronomical level of student debt accrued in the United States is inflicting lasting, generational damage on the lives of millions of Americans. YES. More than 45 million people are now carrying more than $1.7 trillion in debt, most of it owed to the federal government. THIS IS TRUE!
The burden of that debt is crushing and follows borrowers throughout their lives: It is delaying marriage and home buying and the birth of children. It leaves some students broke on the day after graduation. Others labor for years only to find their balances larger than when they graduated. ALL CORRECT SO FAR! Lower-income students who must borrow heavily to obtain that degree can end up earning middle-class incomes without being able to lead middle-class lives. MMHMM. Around 40 percent of borrowers never graduate from school in the first place. And a third of the debt will never be paid off, according to the Department of Education. OKAY THIS IS A REALLY GOOD CASE FOR CANCELING STUDENT DEBT, BUT WE’LL KEEP READING FOR NOW. FEEL LIKE YOU’RE ABOUT TO SAY SOMETHING AWFUL.
The Biden administration should spend its finite resources WAIT, FINITE? THE GOVERNMENT HAS “FINITE” RESOURCES? THE PRESIDENT CAN LITERALLY ABOLISH THE DEBT WITH AN EXECUTIVE ORDER. THE ADMINISTRATION CAN SHUT DOWN FOR-PROFIT SCHOOLS WITHOUT LEGISLATION (WE ARE HAPPY TO TELL YOU MORE ABOUT HOW!). THEY COULD START LAYING THE GROUNDWORK TO MAKE COLLEGE FREE. WOULDN’T CALL THOSE RESOURCES FINITE! and political capital on fixing the higher education system to make it more affordable while helping those borrowers in the most distress. WE REALLY DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU ARE CREATING AN ARTIFICIAL OPPOSITION BETWEEN CANCELING STUDENT DEBT AND FIXING THE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM — THE 2019 COLLEGE FOR ALL BILL, WHICH Y’ALL WERE NOTABLY SILENT ABOUT, WOULD HAVE DONE BOTH….There are already ways to do this, although they have not gotten nearly enough attention or resources.
Canceling student debt across the board is not one of them. Trying to fix such a shattered system with the flick of a pen on an executive order could even make it worse. HOW? IF THE DEBT STOPS CRUSHING PEOPLE, HOW IS THAT MAKING THE SITUATION WORSE? ARE Y’ALL OKAY? Canceling this debt, even in the limited amounts that the White House is considering, THEY SHOULD CONSIDER MORE — AS IN CANCELING ALL OF IT would set a bad precedent THE GOVERNMENT DOING ITS JOB AND HELPING PEOPLE SETS A PRETTY GOOD PRECEDENT, ACTUALLY and do nothing to change the fact that future students will graduate with yet more debt IT *REALLY* SOUNDS LIKE WE NEED FREE COLLEGE — along with the blind hope of another, future amnesty. Such a move is legally dubious, TOTALLY PATHETIC, THIS CITATION JUST QUOTES BETSY DEVOS AND WHAT SHE THINKS economically unsound, THIS LINK DOESN’T EVEN GO TO RESEARCH ON CANCELATION? politically fraught CITING THE NATIONAL REVIEW? REALLY?! and educationally problematic. Y’ALL HAVE REALLY NOT THOUGHT ABOUT THIS MUCH, HUH. ALSO HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT CONGRESS ISN’T EXACTLY FUNCTIONAL THESE DAYS? YES, HIGHER ED NEEDS FIXING, BUT THAT REQUIRES LEGISLATION, CANCELING FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS IS SOMETHING BIDEN CAN DO ON HIS OWN. WHAT’S NOT CLICKING?
As a candidate, Mr. Biden said he supported congressional action to tackle student debt BIDEN LITERALLY SAID HE WOULD CANCEL IT HIMSELF…LIKE, IT’S ON VIDEO. Legal experts disagree YOU ALREADY CITED THIS DEVOS ARTICLE, WE GET IT, THE WICKED WITCH IS OPPOSED TO CANCELATION about whether the president has the authority to cancel student loan debt through an executive order, as the White House is now considering. That raises the possibility that this issue could be dragged out in the courts for years. THIS ISN’T TRUE. NOBODY WOULD HAVE STANDING TO SUE. ALSO, ARE YOU SAYING THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION JUST SHOULDN’T GOVERN BECAUSE OF A HYPOTHETICAL COURT DECISION?
All told, 79 million American adults have had student loans at some point. Nearly half have paid them off entirely WELL, YEAH MOSTLY THE WHITE MEN WHO GET PAID MORE IN THE WORKPLACE, SURE. Waiving $10,000 in student debt, the amount Mr. Biden proposed during his presidential campaign, could clear the books of as many as 15 million of the more than 45 million Americans who still owe borrowed money for school. Proponents of debt cancellation argue that Democrats need to deliver on a campaign promise to a key constituency, and it may well be politically advantageous for them to do so before the midterm elections, when turnout of the Democratic base will be critical to the party’s success. YEAH. But if the Biden administration puts forward a plan that voters do not regard as fair, the party could face a backlash at the polls. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO CITE FOR THIS OR IS IT JUST — OH, YEAH, THIS IS JUST AN OPINION PIECE. A BAD ONE, CLEARLY. BECAUSE POLLING EXISTS THAT SAYS OTHERWISE.
Since Mr. Biden took office his Department of Education has taken several important steps to alleviate some of the burden of loans for borrowers who are unable to pay and forgiven the debts of some students defrauded by for-profit schools. Throughout the pandemic, borrowers have been forgiven the interest that accrued on their loans each month in addition to not having to pay down the principal of the loan. The Biden administration has extended the pause several times, and it is now set to expire on Aug. 31. YES, AND DEMOCRATS, INDEPENDENTS AND REPUBLICANS ALL SUPPORT THIS PAUSE. BECAUSE THERE’S A LITTLE THING HAPPENING RIGHT NOW CALLED A PANDEMIC…NOT SURE IF Y’ALL KNEW ABOUT IT.
The moratorium on payment of federal loans, which make up more than 90 percent of all student debt, has already cost $100 billion and has canceled the equivalent of $5,500 in debt per borrower. THE OTHER WAY TO LOOK AT THIS “COST” IS THAT IT SAVED BORROWERS BILLIONS PER YEAR. WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE, SAVE FOR RETIREMENT, GO TO THE DOCTOR, PAY OUR OTHER DEBTS. AND THE SKY DIDN’T FALL. IT’S ALMOST LIKE THE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T NEED OUR MONTHLY LOAN PAYMENTS TO FUNCTION.
The White House is considering various proposals for debt cancellation, possibly with income-based limits for eligibility. Such limits are crucial ACTUALLY, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICIALS ARE SOUNDING THE ALARM THAT THESE LIMITS ARE ADMINISTRATIVELY IMPOSSIBLE, because they direct the help to those most in need WRONG AGAIN BECAUSE 1) ANYONE WITH STUDENT DEBT IS IN NEED, BY NATURE OF HAVING DEBT AND 2) THOSE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICIALS JUST MENTIONED ARE WARNING THAT MAKING BORROWERS DO A BUNCH OF PAPERWORK WILL EXCLUDE THE VERY PEOPLE YOU CLAIM TO WANT TO HELP. An across-the-board cancellation would be tremendously regressive, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution JUST NOT TRUE AT ALL, ACCORDING TO AN ANALYSIS BY THE ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE, WHICH WAS JUST UPDATED. Most debt is held by higher-income households, and so any amount of universal forgiveness will benefit them disproportionately AGAIN, NOT TRUE. AND PEOPLE CAN HAVE HIGH-INCOMES BUT BE LOW-WEALTH. In fact, the growth of student debt for graduate school — held by students whose degrees will offer them the greatest future earning potential AHH YES, THE GREAT FUTURE EARNING POTENTIAL OF BEING A SOCIAL WORKER OR A TEACHER IN THE U.S. — is a major driver of overall student debt. Graduate students account for some 37 percent of all federal student debt, and there is a lucrative return on investment EW, PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT EDUCATION LIKE THIS — IT’S GROSS. EDUCATION SHOULD BE A PUBLIC GOOD for getting certain advanced degrees.
Federal repayment plans adjust monthly payments based on income and family size and extend repayment periods. Debts are eligible for forgiveness after 10, 20 or 25 years of payments IS A DECADE OR 2 SUPPOSED TO BE A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME OR SOMETHING — ALSO WORTH NOTING THAT PEOPLE WIND UP PAYING WAYYYYY MORE THAN WHAT THEY ORIGINALLY BORROWED AS THE YEARS AND DECADES TICK BY. Around 30 percent of all borrowers with federal loans are in such a program, and more borrowers could benefit from participating in one. YOU MEAN THE PROGRAMS THAT DON’T WORK AND HAVE A 99% DENIAL RATE? THESE PROGRAMS?
But the repayment programs have a poor track record. OH OKAY, SO YOU ARE AWARE. Not long ago, fully 98 percent of people who applied to have their debts waived had their claims rejected. A report from the Government Accountability Office in March found that millions of dollars in student debt could already have been forgiven if the programs had been administered properly. Richard Cordray, the chief operating officer at Federal Student Aid, an Education Department agency, called the failure “really inexcusable.” TRUE. THIS IS INEXCUSABLE.
The Education Department has been working to fix these programs by retroactively giving qualified borrowers more credit for time spent in public service and hoeing through a backlog of paperwork, but it could do more. YES, IT COULD DO MORE BY JUST CANCELING PEOPLE’S DEBTS, FULL STOP. Additional changes to income-based repayment programs — such as reducing interest payments, lowering eligibility standards and exempting forgiven student loan debts from taxation — could have big impacts over time, according to a report from Pew. Congress and the Education Department should look to such changes as part of a more sustainable solution to the debt problem. WHY ARE YOU SO COMMITTED TO NIBBLING AT THE EDGES OF THE CRISIS?!? THESE ARE ALL PIECEMEAL SOLUTIONS THAT BROAD DEBT CANCELATION WOULD SOLVE.
Lawmakers should also consider making it easier to discharge student loans through bankruptcy, a measure of relief that is available for credit card and mortgage debt. Changes to bankruptcy law in 2005 have also made those protections less accessible. YEAH, BIDEN WAS THE GUY WHO MADE IT INACCESSIBLE BECAUSE OF HIS BANKRUPTCY LEGISLATION. THAT’S WHY WE’RE TELLING HIM TO FIX THIS PROBLEM — HE CREATED IT!
The Education Department has started a long overdue crackdown on predatory schools, another significant source of student debt defaults. The Obama administration tightened the rules on for-profit schools FACT CHECK: THE OBAMA ADMIN BAILED OUT FAILING PREDATORY COLLEGES INSTEAD OF SHUTTING THEM DOWN AND BLOCKED DEFRAUDED BORROWERS FROM GETTING THE RELIEF THEY WERE LEGALLY ENTITLED TO BY TYING THEM UP IN RED TAPE, but the Trump administration’s Education Department, under Betsy DeVos, relaxed those rules and let repayment and forgiveness programs atrophy. BY NOT ISSUING MASS DEBT RELIEF FOR FOR-PROFIT STUDENTS, THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION LITERALLY THREW VULNERABLE BORROWERS TO TRUMP’S WOLVES Last month the department discharged $238 million in debt held by 28,000 people who attended the Marinello Schools of Beauty, which closed in 2016. The school engaged in “pervasive and widespread misconduct,” a department investigation found. COME ON, THIS IS WAY TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE.
Since 2021 the Biden administration has approved more than $18.5 billion in loan discharges for more than 750,000 borrowers, including $6.8 billion for 113,000 people in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and $8.5 billion for more than 400,000 borrowers with total and permanent disabilities SO DISCHARGING STUDENT DEBT IS GOOD NOW? WE’RE CONFUSED ABOUT YOUR POSITION. The administration is also pushing to double the maximum Pell Grant and restore a rule that holds schools accountable for the gainful employment of their graduates — a measure aimed at for-profit colleges. OKAY LET’S BE CLEAR — NEITHER THE OBAMA NOR BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WOULD BE DOING ANYTHING TO HELP FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE BORROWERS IF THE DEBT COLLECTIVE HADN’T BEEN ORGANIZING AND FIGHTING FOR YEARS — LOOK UP “CORINTHIAN 15” AND “DEBT COLLECTIVE” IN YOUR OWN NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES! NOBODY KNOWS MORE ABOUT THESE “FIXES” AND WHY THEY DON’T WORK THAN WE DO.
Those moves are all to the good, addressing the student debt crisis with policies that are both compassionate and fair. YEAH, SO IS STUDENT DEBT CANCELATION. They will not, however, solve structural inequalities like the racial wealth gap. Supporters of debt forgiveness LET’S CALL IT DEBT CANCELATION, WE AREN’T SORRY ABOUT ANYTHING argue that targeted relief is inadequate and that broader relief would help to close the gap YES, THAT IS WHAT WE ARGUE. Black college graduates, on average, owe $25,000 more than their white peers OKAY WOW THAT SEEMS BAD. More than half of Black borrowers report that their net worth is less than the balance of their student loans OKAY YEAH THIS SEEMS REALLY BAD. And Black borrowers are more likely than their white peers to drop out of school before receiving a degree. OH GOD THIS IS TERRIBLE! WE SHOULD CANCEL THIS DEBT!
But across-the-board debt forgiveness will not help LOL, WHAT?. As a recent report from the Brookings Institution concluded, only targeted policies based on race or socioeconomic status “can address the inequities caused by federal student lending programs.” DEAR GOD PLEASE STOP QUOTING THAT BAD DATA. THIS BROOKINGS INSTITUTION RESEARCH SAYS THE OPPOSITE.
While inflated college tuitions are part of the reason for the rise in student debt — average student debt is now up to $36,800 from $24,700 a decade ago — it bears noting that the number of students receiving loans to attend college has also increased WELL, YEAH, THE COST OF COLLEGE IS RISING. PEOPLE AREN’T TAKING OUT STUDENT LOANS FOR FUN. In other words, American students keep borrowing to attend college because a degree still offers the promise of prosperity MMM, MORE LIKE YOU NEED A DEGREE TO ENTER THE LABOR MARKET NOWADAYS. IT’S NOT THE 1940S ANYMORE. The Biden administration should focus on confronting the problems with college affordability CANCELING STUDENT DEBT WOULD DO THIS and loan repayment so more students and graduates have a better chance at that prosperity. WOW, THIS WAS COMPLETELY AWFUL. IT’S SO REVEALING, NEW YORK TIMES, THAT YOU CAN ACKNOWLEDGE SOMETHING AS “CRUSHING” AND THEN IN THE SAME ARGUMENT DO NOTHING ABOUT IT. YOU’RE OKAY WITH PEOPLE BEING CRUSHED, BUT YOU WOULD JUST LIKE POLICY VIOLENCE TO HAPPEN A LITTLE MORE SLOWLY AND COVERTLY. YOU WANT TO CRUSH DEBTORS IN A WAY THAT DOESN’T CALL THE ENTIRE SYSTEM INTO QUESTION. JUST CANCEL ALL STUDENT DEBT AND MAKE COLLEGE FREE.
JOIN THE DEBT COLLECTIVE AT DEBTCOLLECTIVE.ORG.
