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Is it fair to forgive student loans? Examining 3 of the arguments of a heated debate

Scott Horsley

Student loan borrowers stage a rally in front of The White House on Aug. 25 to celebrate President Biden cancelling student debt. The plan has sparked heated debate, including about its economic fairness. Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We the 45m hide caption

Student loan borrowers stage a rally in front of The White House on Aug. 25 to celebrate President Biden cancelling student debt. The plan has sparked heated debate, including about its economic fairness.

President Biden's plan to forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in student debt is sparking heated debate.

Biden last week announced plans to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for others who qualify.

The news will provide relief for borrowers at a time when the cost of higher education has surged.

Student loan forgiveness is politically popular. But not all Democrats are on board

But critics are questioning the fairness of the plan and warn about the potential impact on inflation should the students with the forgiven loans increase their spending.

Here are three key arguments – for and against the wisdom of Biden's decision.

Raising living standards or adding fuel to inflation?

Undoubtedly, student debt is a big burden for a lot of people.

Under Biden's plan, 43 million people stand to have their loan payments reduced, while 20 million would have their debt forgiven altogether.

People whose payments are cut or eliminated should have more money to spend elsewhere – maybe to buy a car, put a down payment on a house or even put money aside for their own kids' college savings plan. So the debt forgiveness has the potential to raise the living standard for tens of millions of people.

Critics, however, say that additional spending power would just pour more gasoline on the inflationary fire in an economy where businesses are already struggling to keep up with consumer demand.

Inflation remains near its highest rate in 40 years and the Federal Reserve is moving to aggressively raise interest rates in hopes of bringing prices back under control.

Not all economists believe the debt forgiveness will do much to fuel inflation.

Debt forgiveness is not like the $1200 relief checks the government sent out last year, which some experts say added to inflationary pressure. Borrowers won't suddenly have $20,000 deposited in their bank accounts. Instead, they'll be relieved of making loan payments over many years.

President Biden announces student loan relief in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 24. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

President Biden announces student loan relief in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 24.

Because the relief is dribbled out slowly, Ali Bustamante, who's with left-leaning Roosevelt Institute says Biden's move won't move the needle on inflation very much.

"It's just really a drop in the bucket when it come to just the massive level of consumer spending in our very service- and consumer-driven economy," he says.

The White House also notes that borrowers who still have outstanding student debt will have to start making payments again next year. Those payments have been on hold throughout the pandemic.

Restarting them will take money out of borrower's pockets, offsetting some of the additional spending power that comes from loan forgiveness.

Helping lower income Americans or a sop to the rich?

Another big point of contention has to do with fairness.

Forgiving loans would would effectively transfer hundreds of billions of dollars in debt from individuals and families to the federal government, and ultimately, the taxpayers.

Some believe that transfer effectively penalizes people who scrimped and saved to pay for college, as well as the majority of Americans who don't go to college.

They might not mind subsidizing a newly minted social worker, making $25,000 a year. But they might bristle at underwriting debt relief for a business school graduate who's about to go to Wall Street and earn six figures.

Students from George Washington University wear their graduation gowns outside of the White House in Washington, D.C, on May 18. Economists worry President Biden's plan to forgive student loans could encourage more people to take on debt in the hopes of also being forgiven. Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Students from George Washington University wear their graduation gowns outside of the White House in Washington, D.C, on May 18. Economists worry President Biden's plan to forgive student loans could encourage more people to take on debt in the hopes of also being forgiven.

The White House estimates 90% of the debt relief would go to people making under $75,000 a year. Lower-income borrowers who qualified for Pell Grants in college are eligible for twice as much debt forgiveness as other borrowers.

But individuals making as much as $125,000 and couples making up to $250,000 are eligible for some debt forgiveness. Subsidizing college for those upper-income borrowers might rub people the wrong way.

"I still think a lot of this benefit is going to go to doctors, lawyers, MBAs, other graduates that have very high earnings potential and may even have very high earnings this year already," says Marc Goldwein senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Helping those in need or making college tuition worse?

Goldwein also complains that the loan forgiveness doesn't address the larger problem of soaring college tuition costs.

In fact, he suggests, it might make that problem worse — like a Band-Aid that masks a more serious infection underneath.

For years, the cost of college education has risen much faster than inflation, which is one reason student debt has exploded.

And now what? The question that follows Biden's student loan forgiveness plan

By forgiving some of that debt, the government will provide relief to current and former students.

But Goldwein says the government might encourage future students to take on even more debt, while doing little to instill cost discipline at schools.

"People are going to assume there's a likelihood that debt is canceled again and again," Goldwein says. "And if you assume there's a likelihood it's canceled, you're going to be more likely to take out more debt up front. That's going to give colleges more pricing power to raise tuition without pressure and to offer more low-value degrees."

The old rule in economics is when the government subsidizes something, you tend to get more of it. And that includes high tuition and college debt.

• college tuition
• student loan debt
• student loans
• student debt forgiveness

The “fairness” debate over student loan forgiveness, explained

Why economists are fighting over whether canceling debt is a good idea.

by Libby Nelson

For many of the 43 million Americans with federal student loan debt, President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in debt is unequivocally good news.

But in the days since the policy was announced, it has also led to pushback, debate, and controversy — arguments that are likely to be studied for months and adjudicated by researchers for years, if not decades.

There are two leading — and overlapping — criticisms of the loan forgiveness plan. One question is whether debt forgiveness is the right thing to do. It asks whether forgiving student loans is the best way to spend an estimated $500 billion , given that some, though not all, of those who benefit have college degrees and relatively high household incomes.

The other is about whether debt forgiveness is the right thing to do right now. If households freed from the burdens of their debts spend more money, it could drive inflation higher — meaning that the consequences of loan forgiveness would be borne by everyone, and soon. To dampen inflation, the Federal Reserve is actively trying to get consumers to spend less.

It’s unsurprising that Biden’s political opponents have raised these concerns. But the criticism has also extended to some economists who have served in previous Democratic administrations or consider themselves sympathetic to Biden’s goals. “Pouring roughly half trillion dollars of gasoline on the inflationary fire that is already burning is reckless,” Jason Furman, President Barack Obama’s chief economist, tweeted when Biden’s plan was announced.

Not all economists agree with Furman’s view . But the fact that the inflation debate is happening at all is a sign of how broader economic trends have shifted.

The push for student debt forgiveness was born a decade ago in the depths of the Great Recession, when even college graduates struggled to find work. Inflation was low and falling. It’s become reality under very different economic circumstances, and that shift is part of what’s fueling the current debate.

The first debate: Is loan forgiveness the right thing to do?

The Biden administration crafted its student debt forgiveness proposal in an attempt to avoid benefiting the wealthiest families. To be eligible for $10,000 in loan forgiveness, student debtors must have earned less than $125,000 (or $250,000 for a married couple) in the 2020 or 2021 tax years.

Students who receive Pell Grants to attend college — meaning they came from low-income families, overwhelmingly earning less than the median household income in the United States — are eligible for an additional $10,000 in debt relief. This is an extra boost for those who started higher education without the safety net of intergenerational wealth.

The proposal would entirely wipe out student debt for 20 million people — nearly half of the 43 million Americans who borrowed to pay for college and are still paying the loans back. An analysis from the Education Department found that almost 90 percent of the benefits would go to people earning less than $75,000 per year, though because any loans taken out before July 2022 are eligible for forgiveness, that figure includes current students and very recent graduates whose salaries could rise in the near future.

The reaction from Biden’s opponents has been to call forgiveness unfair, both to those who didn’t attend college and to those who already paid off their loans.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who would have perhaps the most to gain from a political backlash to the program, called the idea “a slap in the face to every family who sacrificed to save for college, every graduate who paid their debt, and every American who chose a certain career path or volunteered to serve in our Armed Forces in order to avoid taking on debt.”

This attitude is in line with how policymakers in the United States have typically viewed higher education. The federal government helps some students from poor families by offering Pell Grants that don’t have to be paid back, although the grant, which tops out at just under $7,000, means the majority of recipients still need loans . But the bulk of federal financial aid to students comes in the form of loans.

The American system of higher education finance is based on the idea that a college degree primarily benefits the individual who earns it. The federal government issues a small leg up by offering loans at a cheaper rate than a private bank would offer to an 18-year-old with no credit history or a young adult trying to support a family while earning a degree. (The current rate on an undergraduate student loan is just under 5 percent , compared to up to 14 percent from a private lender.)

A few assumptions underlie all of this: that most student loan borrowers are young people working toward bachelor’s degrees, that they will graduate, and that the degree will help them earn back more than enough to pay their debts. Hence the pushback against loan forgiveness: Why help out a 20-something who majored in philosophy at an expensive private college, instead of the 50-year-old next door with no degree at all?

But those assumptions are no longer always true. Biden’s plan is intended to fit the reality of the student loan program as it exists today. The lines between those who will benefit from debt forgiveness and those who are left on the sidelines are blurrier than blue-collar versus white-collar, working-class versus middle-class, old versus young.

One in five people with outstanding student loans is over age 50 , some of whom likely borrowed on their own behalf (including those who pursued graduate degrees) and some of whom took out loans to pay for their children’s education. Many student debtors are no longer young adults starting at a four-year college; they’re older and more likely to attend a community college or for-profit program. An analysis by Mark Huelsman, director of policy and advocacy at the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice at Temple University, found that almost 40 percent of those who entered college in the 2011-12 school year and took on student debt never earned a credential.

Forgiveness will be especially helpful to those in default — the terrifying Upside Down of the financial aid system, where, after at least 9 months of missed payments, the Education Department can garnish wages and even Social Security checks in order to get its money back. The typical defaulter did not graduate and owes just under $10,000 .

There are other versions of the fairness argument circulating. One holds that forgiveness is unfair to those who borrowed but paid off their debts — an argument that could be raised against any social program on behalf of those who were born too early to benefit from it.

The counterpoint to these critiques is that critics are holding student debt forgiveness to a fairness standard applied to few other government programs or benefits. Forgiveness could be life-changing for millions of people, especially those struggling with default, the argument goes, while hurting no one.

Which is where the other part of the critiques come in.

Is it the right thing to do right now?

The student debt forgiveness movement emerged about a decade ago from the crucible of the Great Recession. Students were borrowing more than ever to pay for college and, amid the cratering economy, were struggling to find jobs that would help them pay their loans back.

In 2012, the unemployment rate for bachelor’s degree holders was around 4.5 percent, and nearly 8 percent for college dropouts and those with two-year degrees. Interest rates were low. A prominent argument against student debt for the next eight years was that it was slowing down the economy: Young adults burdened by debt were being held back from buying homes, starting businesses, and spending money.

Few could foresee that by the time forgiveness became a reality, unemployment for bachelor’s degree recipients would have halved, interest rates would have more than doubled, and inflation would be the overriding economic concern. Even in 2019, when loan forgiveness became a serious issue in a Democratic primary campaign for the first time, inflation was rarely mentioned; by the 2020 election, with the economy contracting from the shock of the coronavirus pandemic, student debt forgiveness seemed to have a plausible path to becoming reality as a form of stimulus.

In the past year, though, things have changed. With consumer prices up 8.5 percent over a year ago, some economists now argue that debt cancellation is too big a risk. The concern is that, freed from loan debt or facing reduced payments, student borrowers will spend more at a time when the Federal Reserve is trying its best to get Americans to spend less and cool down the economy.

How much of an effect this will have — if it has one at all — is the subject of further debate.

The federal government paused repayment on most student loans during the pandemic, so millions of borrowers have not had to make a payment on their student loans in two years. The majority of student loan debtors will need to return to making some kind of payment in January, when the pause expires, even if it’s less than they would have had to pay before forgiveness.

The student loan pause was always supposed to end eventually, and it will in January. But for the past two years, the moratorium was extended multiple times, leading to an unusual situation: tens of millions of people owed student debt but didn’t have to make any payments.

Now, this situation is at the heart of the debate over inflation. When economists warn that student debt will drive up prices for everyone, what are they comparing it to? The current situation, where no one is making payments at all?

An analysis by Goldman Sachs economists found that the impact of forgiveness on inflation is likely to be offset by most borrowers resuming payments when the student loan pause ends in January. People who have had their loans forgiven will continue to pay what they’ve been paying for the past two years (nothing), meaning that their household spending should be unaffected. But people who owed more than Biden could forgive, or who earned too much to qualify for forgiveness, will have to resume making payments after two years of not doing so, meaning they’ll actually have less money to spend on everything else.

Or is the proper comparison an alternate path, where Biden allowed payments to resume for all loans, meaning that more people would owe more money per month than they will under the new plan?

Furman estimated that the loan forgiveness plan, even with the resumption of payments for most borrowers in January, could drive up inflation by 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points, compared to the alternative of resuming payments for everyone at their existing debt loads. If inflation continues to rise, prices will become more expensive for all households, meaning that American consumers broadly would pay for the consequences of debt forgiveness.

Ultimately, this argument about inflation is also tied up with the concerns about fairness. If student debt forgiveness drives inflation slightly higher, is that worth it?

Critics argue that it is not: “Student loan debt relief is spending that raises demand and increases inflation,” former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers tweeted last week. “It consumes resources that could be better used helping those who did not, for whatever reason, have the chance to attend college. It will also tend to be inflationary by raising tuitions.”

But that position is not universal. “I am not in favor of framing student-loan policy as a lever for managing inflation,” Sue Dynarski, a Harvard professor, an expert on higher education finance, and a former forgiveness skeptic, wrote in the New York Times on Tuesday. “Eliminating food subsidies for poor families — SNAP, as the food stamp program is known today — would definitely slow the economy, but that doesn’t mean we should do it.”

Where do we go from here?

One thing virtually all sides of the debate agree on is that one-time forgiveness is not enough. It is, by design, a one-off — siblings from the same family who graduate from college a few years apart, having borrowed the same amount to pay for it, could end up with debt loads that differ by thousands of dollars.

The Biden administration is hoping to make income-based student loan repayment more generous, outlining changes that would require borrowers to pay 5 percent of discretionary income per month (down from 10 percent in the current program).

But there is currently no federal plan to actually make college cheaper for students, to reduce borrowing, or to hold colleges accountable for whether students can pay off their loans. That’s not for lack of ideas or for lack of trying. The Obama administration proposed rating colleges based on the “value” they provide to students, an attempt that ultimately went nowhere.

In 2016, both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton called for the federal government to partner with states to make college tuition cheaper. It inspired many of the same debates that loan forgiveness has provoked — should college be subsidized for everyone, and if so, by how much? But the “free college” program was ultimately one of the first things dropped from Democrats’ legislative agenda.

The scope of Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan might seem radical. But by leaving the ultimate structure of how American higher education is paid for unchanged, it’s actually a less dramatic departure than any of the alternatives.

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Student Debt Is Crushing. Canceling It for Everyone Is Still a Bad Idea.

By The Editorial Board

The editorial board is a group of Opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values . It is separate from the newsroom.

The astronomical level of student debt accrued in the United States is inflicting lasting, generational damage on the lives of millions of Americans. More than 45 million people are now carrying more than $1.7 trillion in debt, most of it owed to the federal government.

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. 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. 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.

The Biden administration should spend its finite resources and political capital on fixing the higher education system to make it more affordable while helping those borrowers in the most distress. 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. Canceling this debt, even in the limited amounts that the White House is considering, would set a bad precedent and do nothing to change the fact that future students will graduate with yet more debt — along with the blind hope of another, future amnesty. Such a move is legally dubious , economically unsound , politically fraught and educationally problematic .

As a candidate, Mr. Biden said he supported congressional action to tackle student debt. Legal experts disagree 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.

All told, 79 million American adults have had student loans at some point. Nearly half have paid them off entirely. 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. 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.

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.

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 White House is considering various proposals for debt cancellation, possibly with income-based limits for eligibility. Such limits are crucial, because they direct the help to those most in need. An across-the-board cancellation would be tremendously regressive , according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution. Most debt is held by higher-income households, and so any amount of universal forgiveness will benefit them disproportionately. In fact, the growth of student debt for graduate school — held by students whose degrees will offer them the greatest future earning potential — 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 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. Around 30 percent of all borrowers with federal loans are in such a program, and more borrowers could benefit from participating in one.

But the repayment programs have a poor track record. 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 .”

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. 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.

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.

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, but the Trump administration’s Education Department, under Betsy DeVos , relaxed those rules and let repayment and forgiveness programs atrophy. 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.

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. 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.

Those moves are all to the good, addressing the student debt crisis with policies that are both compassionate and fair.

They will not, however, solve structural inequalities like the racial wealth gap. Supporters of debt forgiveness argue that targeted relief is inadequate and that broader relief would help to close the gap. Black college graduates, on average, owe $25,000 more than their white peers. More than half of Black borrowers report that their net worth is less than the balance of their student loans. And Black borrowers are more likely than their white peers to drop out of school before receiving a degree.

But across-the-board debt forgiveness will not help. 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.”

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. In other words, American students keep borrowing to attend college because a degree still offers the promise of prosperity. The Biden administration should focus on confronting the problems with college affordability and loan repayment so more students and graduates have a better chance at that prosperity.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram .

What Went Wrong with Federal Student Loans?

At a time when the returns to college and graduate school are at historic highs, why do so many students struggle with their student loans? The increase in aggregate student debt and the struggles of today’s student loan borrowers can be traced to changes in federal policies intended to broaden access to federal aid and educational opportunities, and which increased enrollment and borrowing in higher-risk circumstances. Starting in the late 1990s, policymakers weakened regulations that had constrained institutions from enrolling aid-dependent students. This led to rising enrollment of relatively disadvantaged students, but primarily at poor-performing, low-value institutions whose students systematically failed to complete a degree, struggled to repay their loans, defaulted at high rates, and foundered in the job market. As these new borrowers experienced similarly poor outcomes, their loans piled up, loan performance deteriorated, and with it the finances of the federal program. The crisis illustrates the important role that educational institutions play in access to postsecondary education and student outcomes, and difficulty of using broadly-available loans to subsidize investments in education when there is so much heterogeneity in outcomes across institutions and programs and in the ability to repay of students.

This draft was prepared for the Journal of Economic Perspectives. Adam Looney is Clinical Professor, University of Utah, David Eccles School of Business, Salt Lake City, Utah. He is also a Visiting Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC. Constantine Yannelis is Associate Professor of Finance, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Chicago, Illinois. He is also a Faculty Research Fellow, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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Debt Relief Dilemma: Examining the Pros and Cons of Student Loan Forgiveness

H ave you ever had the impression that you're going in circles and never seem to be getting anywhere? Many students feel that way about their student loans. Today, we will discuss the reasoning behind the cancelation of these loans. We'll look at the societal, psychological, ethical, and economic aspects in addition to the overall picture.

Economic Impact of Student Loans

How loans stifle the economy.

Imagine a person with heavy weights tied to their ankles trying to run a marathon. That's what an economy laden with student debt is like. It struggles to achieve its full potential because of the significant financial burden on its citizens. The money used to service these debts could have been invested , spent on goods and services, or saved, stimulating economic growth.

The Burden on the Middle Class

Let's picture the middle class as a bridge between the rich and the poor. Now, imagine this bridge under increasing pressure due to the weight of student debt. It weakens the structure, leading to socio-economic instability.

The Morality of Student Debt

Are student loans ethical.

Do you think it's right to burden young adults with massive debt, barely out of adolescence? Student loans pose an ethical problem, saddling individuals with debt when they are yet to secure stable employment.

Role of Educational Institutions

Should schools be gatekeepers or gateways? When educational institutions participate in high-cost loan schemes, they risk becoming barriers to education rather than facilitators.

Impact on Mental Health

Stress & anxiety from debt.

Do you remember that dreadful feeling before an exam for which you were unprepared? Now, imagine feeling that every day due to debt-induced stress and anxiety . That's the grim reality for many borrowers.

Long-Term Psychological Effects

Over time, the mental load of debt can lead to chronic stress disorders and other mental health issues, much like how water dripping constantly can wear away even the hardest stone.

Racial and Gender Disparities

How debt impacts minorities.

Student loans don't affect everyone equally. It's like a rainstorm; some only get wet, while others get drenched. Minorities often bear the brunt of this debt crisis due to systemic inequalities and lack of resources.

Women & Student Loans

Like a pair of ill-fitting shoes , student loans are particularly uncomfortable for women. Due to wage gaps and other socio-economic factors, they often take longer to repay their debts.

The Bigger Picture

Global perspective on education.

In a world where many countries provide free or low-cost higher education, why does the US stick to its debt-dependent model? It's like insisting on using a typewriter in an era of laptops.

Comparisons with Other Countries

Does free education breed laziness or innovation? Many countries with free or subsidized higher education outrank the US in innovation and overall happiness indices.

Solutions and Alternatives

Government intervention.

Could the government be the hero in this narrative? Many advocate for government intervention in the form of laws that regulate tuition fees and provide subsidies.

Free Tuition Models

Remember how liberating it felt to get a freebie ? Imagine if education was that freebie. Free tuition models, as adopted by some countries, could be a possible solution.

Debt Forgiveness

Consider debt forgiveness a reset button for the economy, allowing millions of individuals to start fresh and contribute more significantly to economic growth.

The Opposition

Arguments against cancellation.

Are there two sides to every coin? Some arguments against cancellation include potential inflationary impacts and concerns about fairness to those who have paid their loans.

Impact on Taxpayers

Are taxpayers the silent victims in the loan cancellation scenario? Some argue that loan cancellation could lead to higher taxes or cutbacks on other essential services.

Should student loans be canceled? Given the substantial economic, psychological, and societal impacts, it seems a path worth considering. However, this complex issue requires balanced consideration of all perspectives.

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Reasons to Eliminate Student Loans

Introduction.

The total amount of student college loan debt has been on the rise in the recent past. In every research done in America, it seems that the statistics on student loan debts are worse than the last. In the US today, attaining a college degree is the most fundamental qualification for getting a skilled job employment opportunity. The present young generation wants white-collar jobs because they attract higher pay.

Employers expect job candidates to have a primary qualification of at least a Bachelor’s degree for any entry into the job market, but the cost of tuition has continued to rise. To achieve their childhood, family and society expectations, many students have resulted in applying for student loans. A student loan is a very intricate issue in the current economy. There are many players involved in increasing student loans (Mason 39).

Why Student Debts Should Be Eliminated?

These players encourage students to go to college and get a loan then end up with significant loans to buyback. Private players, state government and federal government are always on campaigns encouraging students to pursue education because it is the only way to get well-paying jobs. The federal government promises student loans that attract lower interests compared to private or bank loans. However, many students still find it hard when it comes to repaying these loans. The federal government offers four types of loans.

The federal direct loan forms the largest student loan program in America. Under this program, the U.S. Department of Education functions as the financier. In this program, students are given direct subsidized loans, direct unsubsidized loans, and direct plus loans or direct consolidation loans. Each of these loan packages promises students to aid them to complete their higher education (Gradeless 56).

In the past, a college education was affordable to many, and it was a guarantee for a higher standard of living. Today, going to college and being guaranteed a high standard of living is a daydream to many. In the current economic downturn, many Americans are finding themselves laid off, and the need to go back to school intensifies. Many do this with the aim of remaining relevant in the 21st-century job market. As more and more Americans are joining higher education programs, and are succeeding in getting financial aid, the already under-serving economic aid system is further stained. The decline in support for higher education has been felt both at the state and federal level. Every year, many students fight tooth and nail on both federal and state levels to ensure that the government commits more funds to support higher education (United States Student Association Education).

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Many of the elected officials always promise to invest in education during their campaign trail. However, they maintain silence when education budgets get slashed resulting in tuition fees skyrocketing and financial aid decreasing. Since the early 1980s, tuition fees in many colleges have increased by over 500%. A project aimed at determining the student debt in America showed that the average college senior who graduated in 2010 had $25,000 as an outstanding loan.

This has resulted in loan debt for the student to stand at $1 trillion. The gap between tuition fees and the total amount available has worsened the situation felt by many students. It has made the current students become indebted. Additionally, the current generation of students has been left jobless after graduation something that makes many students unable to pay their loans (Gradeless 21).

The number of Americans who want to attain a college degree is getting higher and higher every year. According to the National Panel Report, approximately 75% of students currently in high school reported that they would like to join college after graduating from high school. Those from a humble background said that they would go to the extent of getting a loan from any agency to get through college. Additionally, adults who mostly get laid off reported that they would like to go back to school to get a degree so as to continue their professional development.

Policymakers, employers and families’ put pressure on students and breadwinners to get into college because it is an unavoidable choice that will enable them to survive in the current society. This is regardless of the high cost of college fees as students are promised loans, which they end up paying dearly. Most students end up depending on some forms of financial aid. Realistically, getting a scholarship in the U.S. today is very challenging, because of increased competition.

As an alternative, most students turn to student loans as an easier way to get the necessary tuition. What many students do not realize is that most students forget that financial aid is indeed a loan. This means that this money earns interest and must be returned. Approximately, 20 million American students attend college every year. Out of the 20 million students, around 12 million, which is approximately 60%, borrow every year to help cover their college fees (Scott).

The Federal Reserve Board of New York reported that the outstanding student loan borrowers stood at 37 million. In 2012, students who took loans under the age 30 were 14 million, those aged 30-39 were 10.6 million, 5.7 million were aged 40-49, 4.6 million were aged 50-59 and, finally, those aged above 60 were 2.2 million. As a result of huge student loan debts, many American families continue to face a lot of stress. The cost of daily living has increased, yet many students who have benefited from either private or federal loans cannot maintain comfortable lifestyles (Collinge 76).

Today two-thirds of students graduating from American universities and colleges have substantial amounts of debts. Institute for College Access (TICAS) reports that an average student borrower in the US graduates with an approximately $26,000 loan debt. On the extreme, there have been reports that some students have graduated with crippling debts of $100,000 or even more. What is astonishing is that this is just a case of only 1% of graduates, because the majority of graduates accumulate more than $40,000.

This is a negative game for both the students and the economy. Student loan debt has been ranked second after mortgages. The question that many begs to ask are whether financial aid to the student should help students or should it enrich some people. The federal debt stands at $16.7 trillion while student loan contributes to 6% of this debt. Although the government has tried to bring into force some laws such as the Student Loan Fairness Act, loan debt for many students remains high (Mason 67).

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Free Persuasive Essay Examples from Elite Essay Writers

Wealth results what a person owns minus all liabilities, yet the amount of wealth in many families that have taken student loans continues to decline. One of the considerations that every student is made aware of is that he or she should start paying on the agreed date. In the minds of many students, they see themselves getting employed immediately after graduating. However, the bitter truth is that the majority remain unemployed. Therefore, many concerns come forward with respect to a college education.

One of these issues is whether a college education is even affordable. The most significant problem that faces many graduate and their families are the intricacies of paying the ever-rising tuition fees. In an effort to come up with a solution to this threat, the federal government has come up with various actions to control the rapidly rising higher education cost and loan debt. The united president is not of the idea that colleges and universities should lower their tuition fees. Instead, the president wants to raise higher education funds mostly through federal loan programs. This is not well-timed as the current student loan debt stands at over $1 trillion (Gradeless 23).

Whether a student in the U.S. may be seeking to reside “in-state” or go out, the current college fee is still high and private firms, banks, State and federal governments continue to give loans. To attend a four-year college degree, it will cost a student approximately $9,000 for ‘in-state’ residents. The amount for non-residents needs to pay is approximately $27,000. Although the financial aid sounds to be a superior plan, it causes college students who take these loans to pay back the amount in their later life and even have a large sum of debt.

According to USSA, student debt has continued to grow throughout the Great Recession in the year 2012. Student loan debt now averages approximately $27,000 for every student who is graduating currently in America. Additionally, as student loan defaults and student debt continue to escalate; private student loan lenders continue to increase their profit margins such as Sallie Mae, which tops the list of student loan lenders (United States Student Association Education).

Loan debt has even penetrated community colleges. In the year 2008, 38% of students graduating from community colleges had debts. The Student Loan Fairness Act lowered loan rates from 6.8% to 3.8%. However, working with an average loan debt of $26,600 and compounding for interest year over year using the 10-year payback plan, a total cost of $26,600 loan will be $38,600. If this is broken down to monthly payments, $320 will go towards student loan repayment and continue making students' life after graduating very hard (H.R.1330-Student Loan Fairness Act).

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Home — Essay Samples — Education — Student Loan Debt — Student Loan Debt: Challenges and Solutions

Student Loan Debt: Challenges and Solutions

• Categories: Student Loan Debt

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Words: 642 |

Published: Jan 31, 2024

Words: 642 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Overview of the policy, policy analysis, policy context, policy alternatives, policy recommendations.

• Adams, R., & Moore, D. (2019). The Impact of Student Loan Debt on College Students. Journal of Higher Education, 45(2), 123-136.
• Education Data Initiative. (2020). Student Loan Debt Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-statistics
• U.S. Department of Education. (2021). Federal Student Aid. Retrieved from https://studentaid.gov/
• Williams, J. (2018). Understanding the Legal and Regulatory Framework of Student Loans. Journal of Law and Public Policy , 35(4), 289-302.

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LSAT Argumentative Writing

LSAT Argumentative Writing SM

A new approach to the Writing section of the LSAT 

Beginning July 30, 2024, LSAT Argumentative Writing will replace the LSAT Writing prompt that has been part of the LSAT since 1982.

This new approach to the writing assessment aims to assess a test taker’s ability to construct a cogent argument based on a variety of evidentiary sources. Test takers will be presented with a debatable issue, along with three or four perspectives that provide additional context for the issue. These perspectives, each of which is conveyed in a few sentences, are representative of a system of beliefs or values. Together, the perspectives illustrate competing ideologies and arguments around a particular issue. The test taker will then draft an argumentative essay in which they take a position on the issue, while addressing some of the arguments and ideas presented by the other perspectives. 

The new argumentative writing task is designed to give test takers a clearer, more authentic writing purpose than the former “decision-based” LSAT Writing prompt, which was more narrowly focused on pure logical reasoning. When test takers have an opportunity to construct an original thesis and defend it based on their own judgment and analytical evaluation, rather than following pre-ordained lines of reasoning, we can better assess the broader and more complex range of decision-making skills that writers engage in.

By adopting this design, we’re not only enabling individuals to have a more authentic voice in their argument, but we are also better positioned to evaluate the writer’s ability to employ various rhetorical techniques, evidentiary strategies, and other important aspects of argumentative writing. 

Given the additional reading load required by the new writing task format, LSAT Argumentative Writing will include a short preparatory period that test takers can use to organize their thoughts using guided prewriting analysis questions and to take notes using the digital notetaking tool provided in the testing environment. These questions are designed to help test takers analyze the various perspectives and generate productive ideas for their essay. Most test takers will have a total of 50 minutes — 15 minutes for prewriting analysis and 35 minutes for essay writing. Test takers with approved accommodations for additional time will have their time allocations adjusted accordingly.

For the 2024-2025 testing cycle, LSAT Argumentative Writing will remain an unscored section of the LSAT and will be administered exclusively in an online proctored, on-demand environment using secure proctoring software that is installed on the test taker’s computer.

Quick Facts about LSAT Writing

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Before You Begin — Top Tips

If your LSAT Argumentative Writing session is flagged for further review, it may delay the release of your LSAT score. Review these tips to avoid having your session flagged.

Required for LSAT Scoring

LSAT Argumentative Writing samples are not scored, but LSAT Argumentative Writing is a required part of the LSAT. Your LSAT score cannot be released to law schools if you do not have a completed and approved LSAT Argumentative Writing sample on file .

Take a Practice Writing Prompt

Through your free LSAC LawHub account, you have access to an official LSAT Argumentative Writing practice prompt that can help you prepare for test day. This writing prompt is representative of the kind of prompts that are used in the LSAT Argumentative Writing assessment. You can use this prompt to get familiar with both the content and the interface of the test.

You can sign into LawHub with your LSAC username and password.

Testing Accommodations

Through our deep commitment to disability rights, LSAC will continue to address the needs of all individuals with disabilities who require testing accommodations. We will make every effort to ensure all test takers are able to fully demonstrate their skills when they take the LSAT and LSAT Argumentative Writing.

Learn More about testing accommodations

Learn How to Verify Your ID on Test Day

When you launch valid, government-issued photo ID . We’ve compiled a list of tips, so you’ll know what to do (and not do!) when it’s time to photograph your ID on exam day. If your LSAT Writing sample is flagged due to ID issues, it could delay the release of your LSAT score.--> LSAT Argumentative Writing, you’ll need to take a photo of your valid, government-issued photo ID. Please ensure that the photo of your ID is clear and recognizable. Images of IDs that are blurry, out of focus, or unrecognizable will not be accepted, and your writing sample will be canceled. Please review the image of your ID on your screen for clarity before capturing the image.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do i register for lsat argumentative writing.

If you’re taking the LSAT for the first time, one administration of LSAT Argumentative Writing is included in your LSAT registration. By registering for the LSAT, you will be automatically eligible to complete the writing section, which is open eight (8) days before you take the multiple-choice portion of the LSAT. You can access LSAT Argumentative Writing from your LSAC JD Account. 

NOTE:  The LSAT registration fee includes both the multiple-choice portion of the LSAT and LSAT Argumentative Writing. There are no additional fees associated with LSAT Argumentative Writing. 

When can I take LSAT Argumentative Writing?

Candidates are eligible to take LSAT Argumentative Writing starting eight (8) days prior to their LSAT administration. For your LSAT to be considered complete, you will need to take the LSAT Argumentative Writing section of the test if you do not already have a writing sample on file from a previous LSAT administration. Most law schools require a writing sample as an integral part of their admission decision, and therefore, you should complete a writing sample to meet schools’ application deadlines. Your writing sample will be shared with the law schools to which you have applied once it’s approved and your score is released. Candidates will be required to have a completed writing sample in their file to see their test score or have their score released to law schools. 

How long does it take to complete the LSAT Argumentative Writing task?

Most test takers will have a total of 50 minutes — 15 minutes for prewriting analysis and 35 minutes for essay writing. Test takers with approved accommodations for additional time will have their time allocations adjusted accordingly. Test takers can use the 15-minute prewriting analysis to organize their thoughts using guided prewriting analysis questions and to take notes using the digital notetaking tool provided in the testing environment. These questions are designed to help test takers analyze the various perspectives and generate productive ideas for their essay. All test takers will have the option to move past the prewriting analysis after 5 minutes of time have expired, or they may choose to use their full time allocated.

By when do I have to complete LSAT Argumentative Writing?

If you do not have a writing sample on file, we encourage you to complete LSAT Argumentative Writing as soon as you can. LSAT Argumentative Writing opens eight (8) days prior to every test administration. Candidates must have a complete writing sample in their file in order to see their score or have their score released to schools. Most law schools require a writing sample as an integral part of their admission decision, and therefore, you should complete the writing sample immediately to meet schools’ application deadlines. 

In case you are not applying in the current cycle, please note you have a maximum of one (1) year to complete LSAT Argumentative Writing. For questions, please contact LSAC’s Candidate Services team at  [email protected]  or  1.800.336.3982 .

What can I use to write notes since scratch paper is prohibited?

Unlike the multiple-choice portion of the LSAT, physical scratch paper and writing utensils are not permitted during the standard administration of LSAT Argumentative Writing. Instead, the LSAT Argumentative Writing interface includes a built-in, digital “scratch paper” section where you’ll be able to type notes, instead of writing them on a physical piece of scratch paper. 

How is test security managed for LSAT Writing?

The secure proctoring platform uses input from the webcam, microphone, and screen of the candidate’s own computer to ensure that the writing sample is the candidate’s own work, and that the candidate is not receiving any inappropriate assistance. Prior to the exam, candidates will complete a video check-in process. As part of the check-in process, candidates will be required to clearly display a physical, valid government-issued photo ID issued by the United States of America, U.S. Territories, or Canada or an international passport for the camera to capture. This image must not be blurry or out of focus. Candidates will also be required to complete a full 360-degree scan of their room and their workspace using their webcam. The room scan must be completed in order to ensure there are no other people or prohibited items in the testing environment. Candidates who require additional items in their workspace due to a disability may seek appropriate accommodations through the standard procedures for  requesting testing accommodations .    

Audio and video from every testing session will be reviewed by trained proctors. 

Please review the  Test and Test-Taker Security FAQs  for more information. 

Do I need to take LSAT Argumentative Writing if I’ve already completed LSAT Writing?

If you previously took LSAT Writing during the current reportable score period (i.e., as early as June 2018), your previous writing sample is still valid, and you do not need to complete LSAT Argumentative Writing. However, if you register to retake the LSAT during the 2024-2025 testing year and would like to complete LSAT Argumentative Writing, you can contact LSAC’s Candidate Relations team at [email protected] or 1.800.336.3982 .

I took the LSAT before August 2024 but never completed LSAT Writing. Can I complete LSAT Argumentative Writing to get my LSAT score?

Yes. LSAT Writing will be available through July 29, 2024. Starting July 30, 2024, LSAT Argumentative Writing will be available to all test takers who still need to complete a writing sample, even if they took the multiple-choice portion of the LSAT during the 2023-2024 testing year.

When will sample prompts for the new LSAT Argumentative Writing be available in LawHub?

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The Big Stories: Co-defendant in Trump documents case claims hostility, and Biden cancels more student debt

Updates from former President Donald Trump's documents trial, and President Biden cancels more student loans for borrowers.

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Prosecutor in trump classified papers documents calls claims of hostility toward co-defendant 'garbage' biden administration canceling student loans for another 160,000 borrowers shan rose and travaris mccurdy head to runoff in district 5 special election, prosecutor in trump classified papers documents calls claims of hostility toward co-defendant 'garbage'.

A lawyer for Donald Trump's personal valet accused federal prosecutors Wednesday of targeting the valet because he refused to cooperate against the former president in the classified documents case. A prosecutor called the claim "garbage."

Walt Nauta was charged alongside Trump last year in a federal case accusing them of conspiring to conceal boxes of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's estate in Palm Beach, Florida, Both men have pleaded not guilty.

The case, among four criminal prosecutions against Trump, had been set for trial on May 20, but U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon cited numerous issues she has yet to resolve as a basis for canceling the trial date. Prosecutors and defense lawyers were in court Wednesday for the first time since the judge indefinitely postponed the trial earlier this month.

Stanley Woodward, a lawyer for Nauta, conceded to Cannon that there was insufficient evidence to dismiss the indictment on grounds of vindictive prosecution. But he said there was enough for her to order prosecutors to turn over all communication they had about Nauta to see if hostility existed.

He said he believed his client was only being prosecuted because he refused to testify against Trump and because he asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination by refusing to testify a second time before a grand jury.

"There was a campaign to get Mr. Nauta to cooperate in the first federal prosecution of a former president of the United States, and when he refused, they prosecuted him," Woodward told the judge. "That's a violation of his constitutional rights."

Prosecutor David Harbach, a member of special counsel Jack Smith's team, which brought the case, called Woodward's argument "garbage" and said it was common for defendants to be offered better treatment if they cooperate — a subsequent indictment does not qualify as vindictive prosecution.

"There is not a single bit of evidence of animus toward Mr. Nauta," Harbach told Cannon.

In addition to the Nauta matter, Cannon was to hear arguments on a Trump request to dismiss the documents indictment on grounds that it fails to clearly articulate a crime and instead amounts to "a personal and political attack against President Trump" with a "litany of uncharged grievances both for public and media consumption."

Prosecutors on special counsel Jack Smith's team will argue against that request. Trump, a Republican, was not present for the hearing.

The motion is one of several that Trump's lawyers have filed to dismiss the case, some of which have already been denied.

The arguments come one day after a newly unsealed motion revealed that defense lawyers are seeking to exclude evidence from the boxes of records that FBI agents seized during an August 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago.

The defense lawyers asserted in the motion that the search was unconstitutional and illegal, and the FBI affidavit filed in justification of it was tainted by misrepresentations.

Smith's team rejected each of the accusations and defended the investigative approach as "measured" and "graduated." It said the search warrant was obtained after investigators collected surveillance video showing what it said was a concerted effort to conceal the boxes of classified documents inside the property.

"The warrant was supported by a detailed affidavit that established probable cause and did not omit any material information. And the warrant provided ample guidance to the FBI agents who conducted the search. Trump identifies no plausible basis to suppress the fruits of that search," prosecutors wrote.

The defense motion was filed in February but was made public on Tuesday, along with hundreds of pages of documents from the investigation that were filed to the case docket in Florida.

Those include a previously sealed opinion last year from the then-chief judge of the federal court in Washington, which said that Trump's lawyers, months after the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, had turned over four additional documents with classification markings that were found in Trump's bedroom.

That March 2023 opinion from U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell directed a former lead lawyer for Trump in the case to abide by a grand jury subpoena and to turn over materials to investigators, rejecting defense arguments that their cooperation was prohibited by attorney-client privilege and concluding that prosecutors had made a "prima facie" showing that Trump had committed a crime.

Trump, the GOP presumptive presidential nominee for 2024, has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.

Biden administration canceling student loans for another 160,000 borrowers

The Biden administration is canceling student loans for another 160,000 borrowers through a combination of existing programs.

The U.S. Department of Education announced the latest round of cancellation on Wednesday, saying it will erase $7.7 billion in federal student loans. With the latest action, the administration said it has canceled $167 billion in student debt for nearly 5 million Americans through several programs.

"From day one of my administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity," President Joe Biden said in a statement. "I will never stop working to cancel student debt — no matter how many times Republican-elected officials try to stop us."

The latest relief will go to borrowers in three categories who hit certain milestones that make them eligible for cancellation. It will go to 54,000 borrowers who are enrolled in Biden's new income-driven repayment plan, along with 39,000 enrolled in earlier income-driven plans, and about 67,000 who are eligible through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

Biden's new payment plan, known as the SAVE Plan, offers a faster path to forgiveness than earlier versions. More people are now becoming eligible for loan cancellation as they hit 10 years of payments, a new finish line that's a decade sooner than what borrowers faced in the past.

The cancellation is moving forward even as Biden's SAVE Plan faces legal challenges from Republican-led states. A group of 11 states led by Kansas sued to block the plan in March, followed by seven more led by Missouri in April. In two federal lawsuits, the states say Biden needed to go through Congress for his overhaul of federal repayment plans.

A separate action by the Biden administration aimed to correct previous mistakes that delayed cancellation for some borrowers enrolled in other repayment plans and through Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which forgives loans for people who make 10 years of payments while working in public service jobs.

The Biden administration has been announcing new batches of forgiveness each month as more people qualify under those three categories.

According to the Department of Education, one in 10 federal student loan borrowers has now been approved for some form of loan relief.

"One out of every 10 federal student loan borrowers approved for debt relief means one out of every 10 borrowers now has financial breathing room and a burden lifted," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

The Biden administration has continued canceling loans through existing avenues while it also pushes for a new, one-time cancellation that would provide relief to more than 30 million borrowers in five categories.

Biden's new plan aims to help borrowers with large sums of unpaid interest, those with older loans, those who attended low-value college programs, and those who face other hardships preventing them from repaying student loans. It would also cancel loans for people who are eligible through other programs but haven't applied.

The proposal is going through a lengthy rule-making process, but the administration said it will accelerate certain provisions, with plans to start waiving unpaid interest for millions of borrowers starting this fall.

Conservative opponents have threatened to challenge that plan, too, calling it an unfair bonus for wealthy college graduates at the expense of taxpayers who didn't attend college or already repaid their loans.

The Supreme Court rejected Biden's earlier attempt at one-time cancellation, saying it overstepped the president's authority. The new plan is being made with a different legal justification.

Shan Rose and Travaris McCurdy head to runoff in District 5 special election

Candidates Shan Rose and Travaris McCurdy will move on to a runoff election on June 18 after the District 5 Orlando City Commission race Tuesday.

Rose took the lead, but earned 24.8% of the votes, failing to clear the 50% needed to win outright. McCurdy earned 23.3% of the vote. 

Voters in Orlando’s District 5 cast their ballots Tuesday to elect a new city commissioner as seven candidates ran to fill the vacant seat left by  suspended commissioner Regina Hill .

The winner will serve until her criminal case is resolved or until the end of the term next year.

Voters say they view this special election as a fresh start, and want someone to embrace the community’s history, while ushering them into the future.

“I want to make sure we preserve the legacy of this community,” District 5 resident Crystal Priester said. 

Priester comes from a family that many know of in District 5.

Her grandfather,  Father Nelson Pinder,  known as the Street Priest, began his Orlando ministry in 1959. He organized protests and sit-ins during the civil rights movement in Orlando.

He created a community — one his granddaughter says she is still fighting for.

“Affordable housing is extremely important," Priester said. "As we all know, the prices have skyrocketed. So, making sure to come to some type of middle ground so residents and other people that may want to come into this community are able to afford the housing, because it’s critical at this time."

Priester said she also wants the new commissioner to keep a close eye on the $500 million  mixed-use sports complex  being built across from the Kia Center.

“We want to make sure that local businesses and nonprofits are included in the decision-making process,” she said. 

Zac Alfson recently moved to the area in 2020, but said there is no place like District 5.

“I think more than anywhere I’ve ever lived, there’s a great sense of community,” he said. 

While he’s still new to the area, he has already seen the needs of the community.

“Affordable housing," Alfson said. "Attainable housing is at the top of the list."

Alfson said he’s looking for a commissioner who can preserve the district’s history while looking toward the future.

“I have wonderful neighbors," he said. "I love everything that’s happening around us and we need good leadership to make sure that continues on the right path."

Alfson and Priester said they hope others will vote for a candidate who will fight for the district on those important topics.

“I hope that when others who haven’t voted hear that, they’ll want to get out and make sure that their voice is heard," Priester said. "The only way that we can make a difference is to make sure that we’re doing our civic duty and voting is a part of that. So, I feel like they really don’t have a place to complain if you haven’t done your part."

Speaker McCarthy says student loan payment pause 'gone' under debt ceiling deal. Here’s what that means.

The debt ceiling deal finalized between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Sunday would reinstate student loan payments and the accrual of interest in late August.

"The pause is gone within 60 days of this being signed," McCarthy said on Fox News, though the legislation , as with existing plans to sunset the pause, actually stipulates a timeline of 60 days after June 30. "So that is another victory because that brings in $5 billion each month to the American public." 

The Biden-McCarthy deal would suspend the debt limit until January 2025. The plan now heads to Congress for a vote.

'TWO VERY DIFFERENT PLACES': As Supreme Court gears up to rule on student loan cases, Americans are split on debt forgiveness

Are student loans still deferred?

Yes. Student payments and interest have been on pause since the onset of the pandemic, a moratorium first adopted and extended under former President Donald Trump and then extended again under Biden.

But that won’t be the case for long. The Biden administration, whose mass student debt forgiveness plan is currently held up in the Supreme Court, has faced mounting pressure to lift the moratorium. 

Even before Sunday’s deal, efforts were underway to bring student loan payments back. 

A bill that passed out of the House last Wednesday would end the payments as well as Biden’s broader plan to relieve up to $20,000 in student loan debt for Americans with individual incomes of less than $125,000. 

Before that, in March, the student loan refinancing company SoFi sued the federal government over the pause, seeking to end it. 

BIDEN'S STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS PLAN: Lawsuit filed to end student loan payment pause

Education Department prepares for return to student loan payments

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has stressed the moratorium has an expiration date. 

In a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in May, the secretary said borrowers should prepare to start making payments again no later than 60 days after June 30 or after the Supreme Court issues its decision on the two cases challenging Biden’s broad relief plan. 

"The emergency period is over, and we’re preparing our borrowers to restart," Cardona said in the hearing.

But as reported by Politico, internal Education Department documents indicate it could be until October at the earliest that the process resumes. According to the documents, department officials anticipate needing several months to transition back into payments.

In a statement, a White House official said Biden "protected the student debt relief plan in its entirety," including that for mass forgiveness and for improvements to income-driven repayment options. "The administration announced back in November that the current student loan payment pause would end this summer — this agreement makes no changes to that plan," the official said, noting Biden retained his administration's "authority to pause student loan payments, as appropriate, in the event of future emergencies."