The Debt Collective has written an Executive Order for Joe Biden to Cancel all Student Loan Debt

[peoli]

BIG NEWS! PRESIDENT BIDEN CAN CANCEL ALL FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN DEBT WITH A SIMPLE EXECUTIVE ORDER. SO, WE WROTE THE ENTIRE EXECUTIVE ORDER FOR HIM. ALL HE HAS TO DO IS SIGN THIS PIECE OF PAPER.

https://debtcollective.org/flick-of-a-pen/

Link to the Executive Order
https://debtcollective.org/static/debtcollective-flickofapen-9687a327012d9f35ac298f0c6ce18de2.pdf

[SoonerPride]

1. I don't think that is actually possible.

[Thomas Hurt]

2. yeah, that is probably wishful thinking

[greenjar_01]

3. That and a token, as they say, will getcha on the subway

[Chainfire]

4. I don't think that blanket debt forgiveness is the right thing to do.

I think about my daughter who made her way through undergraduate and graduate school, living at home, or in a scholarship house, and making Subway sandwiches to keep from piling up debt while a lot of her friends partied on borrowed money. Will the government also reimburse her for her good judgement? If that sounds a little petty, I am sorry.

Student debt and aggressive collection should not define the remainder a person's life. The kids or rich parents don't have those kinds of problems. Borrowed money should be paid back as one's ability to pay on a sliding scale and not under threat of ruin by predatory collection agencies. If a corporation can bankrupt out of debt, then that path should be open to student debt.

Going forward, the government should provide free education through college, as far as one is willing to go, in a single field, as long as they maintain grades. We are the richest country in the world, we can afford it. A big part of the problems we are facing today is based on ignorance. We can not afford to not educate our young people and we can not tie an anchor around their necks for continuing their education.

[Hortensis]

24. Agree. Biden's on board with the problem but won't be revving up

that giant sucking sound for the privileged who don't need relief.

Also, loans already purchased by the government might be forgiven/erased on paper, but those held by private institutions would have to be paid off by taxpayers, many of whom have far lower incomes than college grads. It'd be wrong to require them to pay for private-university educations that cost more than their homes will ever be worth, those who own their own homes.

Regarding fully subsidized (never free) college, I imagine we're mostly talking about public institutions.

[Budi]

5. From, "where's my free shit"!

[peoli]

7. From Biden committed to forgiving 10k on the campaign trail which is not enough

[Budi]

10. IT'S NEVER ENOUGH!!!

But that's the game plan isn't it?
🙄

[peoli]

11. Sounds like you're projecting some personal rage on to this subject which if implemented would

Free millions from a virtual debtors prison. It would spark a tidal wave of money back into the economy, it would create millions of new home buyers who either can't afford it now or can't qualify because they are trapped by their credit score which will not move because of their 10s of thousands of dollars in student debt that is nearly impossible to make a damn dent in.

The student loan program is a scam of epic proportions as well as the price of college and the price of a textbook which you have you buy with your loan. Not to mention the racial disparity of college tuition debt.

Not to mention that it can't be written off through bankruptcy. It's literally designed to keep people in a financial prison.

The game plan? The game plan? The game plan?

[MineralMan]

21. No, it doesn't sound like that at all.

Not everyone who financed their college education through the judicial use of student loans is unable to pay those loans back. In fact, many do that as quickly as they possibly can, once they get a decent job after graduation. To do that, they live frugally until they have accomplished that.

I will say that many people who have degrees in the humanities will have difficulty finding a job that pays well enough to make that easy, but that's a different question.

I'm guessing that you're someone with a lot of student debt, and who is looking for a way out of that debt without actually paying it off. I understand that, for sure.

Everyone has a different story. Everyone has different needs. Everyone has a different experience.

[Xolodno]

6. I'd prefer it went through Congress.

Just as he can do away with it, a new President can bring it back. With Congress, its a law and done for. Plus they should do this close to the mid-terms to maximize the votes and put GOP politicians feet to the fire.

[peoli]

8. Why drag a mess through congress when he can just wave the magic wand?

[MineralMan]

22. But, you see, he can't just wave a wand.

He can't undo laws passed by Congress. Once again, people are overestimating what a President can do by fiat. It might sound easy to you, but it is definitely not that easy.

[USALiberal]

9. Then in about 5 years we do it again? Nt

[twin_ghost]

12. Hey he can cancel my house mortgage also.

All he has to do is sign a piece of paper!

[peoli]

13. At least you can get a mortgage!!!

Clearly you have no clue about this issue

[SoonerPride]

14. And what concencession do you make for the millions who do not go to college?

If you cancel all student debt you had better be prepared to give tax credits in equal amounts to those with only high school diplomas.

[lagomorph777]

16. Provide funding so they, too, can go to college. That's part of what Biden is pushing.

[SoonerPride]

17. What if you don't need or want to go to college? This is a wealth transfer

This amounts to a wealth transfer from the poor to the middle and upper class.

That's bad policy from the outset.

A much more nuanced approach is needed.

Erasing interest rates altogether is a good first step.

[lagomorph777]

19. We can definitely agree about easing interest rates (currently usurious).

We can also agree about nuance. Biden's big packages contain many different facets for different people in different situations. Any one of them in isolation could be subjected to whataboutism scrutiny, but taken as a whole, they fit together and make sense.

[lagomorph777]

15. You forgot this:

[RegularJam]

18. We like lobbyists again.

😁

[MineralMan]

20. Well, that isn't exactly how Executive Orders get done, is it?

They're proposing one, but there is a series of legal checks to make sure it is possible that is done internally by the administration.

External parties do not get to write Executive Orders to be signed by Presidents.

[whistler162]

23. And what are the tax implications

of gifting people $10,000 or more in debt forgiveness!

[BannonsLiver]

25. The magic wand comment up thread

Is proof positive that a certain segment of our party has deeply unrealistic and uninformed beliefs when it comes to how government and politics actually work.

“Just wave a magic wand!”