White House not budging on Feb. 1 end to student loans forgiveness

[brooklynite]

Politico

The White House has been pretty clear in recent days: Federal student loan payments will resume Feb. 1 as President Joe Biden lifts the nearly two-year pandemic-era pause despite pressure from many in his own party to extend it.

Behind the scenes, that political reality has led the Biden administration to conduct Zoom meetings with allies in the student loan forgiveness space in an effort to make the resumption of loan repayments as smooth as possible.

But despite their no-drama intent, the confabs have not always been smooth sailing.

One such “tense meeting,” described by someone familiar with what happened in the conversation, happened Wednesday. Loan forgiveness advocates relayed to members of Biden’s domestic policy and economic teams that beyond the actual economic, legal and policy implications of lifting the loan repayment pause, the move was “bad politically.” They wanted “to sound the alarm to them about what we believe to be a very serious political mistake that they’re about to be making,” said a second source familiar with the conversation.

[dsc]

1. Without regard to policy, this is horrible politics

Imagine a couple with two kids with $50,000 of student debt. On Feb 1 their income will go down by around $700 a month at a minimum likely more toward $850

[Elwood P Dowd]

4. Not good news about our chances in the mid-terms. More pissed off voters.

Don't forget senior voters are pissed that their Medicare premiums had a dramatic increase starting this coming January. The White House did nothing. Just got my Social Security letter a couple of days ago, and the Medicare premium that's taken out of my check will now be $170.10 a month! Talked to several friends and relatives, and they are not happy campers.

[Spider Jerusalem]

2. Monumental strategic error in an election year

doesn't do much to refute Biden's earlier reputation as "the senator from MBNA", either.

[Budi]

3. Lol. Sounds like their typical ultimatum, translated into 'we were'nt gonna vote for you anyway' ...

...but this will make one grand political wedge in the next election.
Thanks for playing Joe.

They were'nt happy with his 10grand, they wanted 50 grand!
You know something, I've checked everyone's messaging, of a certain political group this week, & they literally all say the exact same thing.
Its as though Waleed Shahid, the script writer of all script writers, sent out an attachment to all his political peeps emails & twitter accts. Repeated verbatum the student loan beatdown on Biden, & followed with a call for "Send More Money"!

Hey Waleed, you really ought to up your scripting game. You're becoming an eyeroll & a yawn.

[JohnSJ]

14. +++

[BlueTsunami2018]

5. Didn't we run on this?

This is really bad politics. Blatant stupidity really.

[leftstreet]

7. Yes. 10k forgiveness for income 100k and under

as I recall

[Budi]

8. Biden ran on $10,000. Someone's now shoving the lie that it's $50,000.

Biden didn't run on 50,000.
But don't let that bit of honesty stop the bullshit campaign against 'everything Biden'
Its in all their twitters, & Emails along with "Send Money"!!

They are flat out lying.

Link to tweet

[BlueTsunami2018]

9. Well, 10 grand a year over five years is 50 grand.

But, of course, they don’t have the details right.

[Budi]

11. Actually they don't & they're not stateing it as such either.

Just a generalized sort of wedge, as they usually do when pounding out fundraising emails & degrading every Democrat they target.

Speaking of DINOs
🙄

[WhiskeyGrinder]

6. This is going to undermine the vaunted recovery, and it's going to be ugly on a lot of fronts.

[Budi]

10. Yes. Because THAT's exactly what they want.

Old Waleed Shahid is writing those ugly liying scripts as fast as he can hit 'send all'.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

12. What who wants?

I mean yeah, with dragging on student loan debt, resuming evictions, halting stimulus checks and an inability to get a bill with extended child tax credits through, all in the face of a pandemic returning to terrible levels, a person could be excused for thinking that the administration itself wants to let the air out of the recovery.

[Budi]

13. LOL.. and Saudi Nuke deals &,Russia Ukraine deals 'done dirt cheap'

...gerrymandering, MSMedia blasting the disarray mantra 24/7, Aaaand a Congress &, Senate that is just hellbent on stalling, delaying, pushing that complete gift to America by Joe Biden, every step of the way as tho they'd rather piss on it than agree to benefit the America that sent them to DC, and always coming up with a 'reasonably fine' excuse for turning the most perfect policy package we've been offered in decades, into a picked apart, snubbed, bullshitting match that rejected Joe Biden's plan for this country, just because it was JOE BIDEN's.

Fk them all.

[Docreed2003]

15. The American medical system is at a breaking point

As a direct result of the pandemic, hospitals nation wide are facing nursing shortages. Hospital staffs have been taxed to the maximum for two straight years. I don't think the average person appreciates just how difficult the pandemic has been for medical professionals. A measure of student debt forgiveness would go a long way towards boosting morale for healthcare workers.

I am not suggesting that there should be a total forgiveness but something, anything would be welcomed.

Healthcare is just one beneficiary to student debt relief. I can understand and appreciate the administrations moves to try to restore a measure of normalcy for the financial institutions affected by prolonging the current pause, but thing are not normal and the average student loan holder needs help right now. The economy may be booming for some but it sure doesn't seem like it from where I stand. The pandemic is not going away and all indicators are pointing towards another rough winter.

No matter what the administrations rationale this isn't a good look.

[WarGamer]

16. Bad policy, bad optics.