Barring any last-minute changes, the yearlong grace period preventing missed student loan payments from hurting credit ends today, Sept. 30. And the fate of student loans for roughly 25 million people, including myself, isn’t very clear.
President Biden’s plan hit yet another snag earlier this month. A judge ruled the plan will remain blocked for now. This comes after seven GOP-led states sued, claiming the plan is illegal. And it likely is.
The administration hyped up borrowers with emails during the summer, hinting that some or all of their loans could be forgiven starting now. No pressure, right? We’re stuck in limbo, wondering when—or if—we’ll have to pay the rest of our debt.
In hindsight, those emails feel more like campaign mailers.
As I see it, there are two large causes of this problem.
For the tail end of Generation X, millennials, and younger people, student loans went from being optional to required—even for low-paying office jobs. With that shift, colleges raised their prices. In the year I was born, 1984, college debt was 6% of a graduate's income. Back then, that was considered high. Estimates vary, but today that number is over 10%, and the totals are much higher, so it takes much longer to pay off.
Like many people my age, I still have a significant amount of student loan debt. Now, there’s no free lunch—it’s my responsibility. I signed those documents at 18. But there are consequences for asking 18 year-olds to make massive financial decisions.
That debt is preventing many of us from investing in America, buying homes, starting businesses, and forcing many of us to rent forever. Actions have consequences, and few are purely good or bad.
The other cause of this issue is a different type of societal rot, deep inside our nation’s capital.
Instead of passing laws and coming to a compromise with Congress, we got a half-baked executive order suspending student loan payments. This isn’t how government is supposed to work. You come to the table, find common ground, compromise, move the ball forward, and take a victory lap. That’s what I was taught. But that’s far from reality.
Instead, Biden—like Trump, like Obama, like Bush, and their congressional colleagues—would rather regulate from their desks and press releases, leaving the courts to decide what should be done. This isn't new. It’s how Washington handles almost every major issue. No wonder nothing works.
What about you? Is student loan forgiveness a deciding factor in your vote? What should we do about student loans and the cost of college, if anything? Let me know in the comments, and check out jamesbrowntv.substack.com.
On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.
Share this post