Forget tariffs -- GOP proposals on student loans will crack the economy
While economists and the general public are preoccupied with the threat to U.S. economic growth stemming from Donald Trump’s tariff policies, serious as that is, they may be overlooking another serious threat.
This one comes from Trump’s approach, abetted by Republicans in Congress, to the student loan crisis.
It’s not a trivial matter. Nearly 43 million Americans owe a combined $1.6 trillion in student debt, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Education. Efforts to relieve borrowers of this weight invariably proposed by Democrats have been stymied by conservatives on Capitol Hill and federal courts.
Now things look worse. There’s no longer any talk in Congress of student loan relief. It’s been supplanted by partisan efforts to increase the burden, by raising the costs of student loans and closing off paths for struggling borrowers to manage their payments.
“Instead of helping the 5 million borrowers that have fallen into default and the millions more that are behind and now at risk of default later this year, this Administration appears set on inflicting massive economic harm on millions of Americans—a decision that will further drag down an already struggling economy,” Aissa Canchola Bañez, policy director for the Student Borrower Protection Center, said recently.
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-06-12/forget-inflation-the-gops-policies-on-student-loans-will-crack-the-economy