Would student loan forgiveness be a bailout for rich kids?

Amelia Robinson, The Columbus Dispatch
·3 min read
12
Student loan borrowers and the Too Much Talent Band thank President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for extending the student loan pause and now demand that they cancel student debt at a gathering outside The White House on Jan. 13, 2022 in Washington, D.C.
Student loan borrowers and the Too Much Talent Band thank President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for extending the student loan pause and now demand that they cancel student debt at a gathering outside The White House on Jan. 13, 2022 in Washington, D.C.

Good morning, friends.

The cost of higher education has become a thing of nightmare.

Most of us will agree with that statement.

Consensus about a solution to the growing problem — that's another thing entirely.

Many rejoiced when President Joe Biden recently announced he is considering using executive authority to cancel student loan debt less than $50,000.

Logan Kolas
Logan Kolas

Neither Logan Kolas, an economic policy analyst with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center, nor David McClough, an associate professor of economics at Ohio Northern University's James F. Dicke College of Business Administration, were among those jumping for joy.

More: Professor: Biden's didn't start student loan fire, but his forgiveness could make it hotter

In separate pieces, the men broke down why they think student loan forgiveness would be trouble with a capital "T."

McClough says that Biden can not be blamed for the woes of the world, but he would be very much  at fault for harming American families if he forgives student loans.

More: Student loan forgiveness would take from 'working poor' give to 'bookish rich'| Opinion

"Indeed, he will worsen a legacy that already includes permitting genocide in a country the U.S. promised to protect, mishandling a pandemic, and advocating inflation-fighting tactics that exacerbate inflation," he wrote in a recent Dispatch guest column. 

Student loans
Student loans

Kolas says loan forgiveness would be “reverse Robin Hood." 

"Rightly pilloried as a bailout for rich kids, forgiving federal student loan debt rewards the risky behavior of those who promised to repay loans after going to college by taxing workers who have either been repaying college debts for years or never borrowed money for school in the first place," he writes. 

David McClough, Ph.D., is associate professor of economics at Ohio Northern University's James F. Dicke College of Business Administration.
David McClough, Ph.D., is associate professor of economics at Ohio Northern University's James F. Dicke College of Business Administration.

That's one way to look at it, but what do you think?

Do you think Biden should cancel student loan debt?

Let me know in a letter to the editor of 200 words or less sent to Letters@Dispatch.com. Include your name, address and phone number.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a press conference about student debt outside the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 4, 2021 in Washington, D.C. Also pictured, L-R, Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., Rep. Alma Adams, D-N.C., Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass. The group of Democrats re-introduced their resolution calling on President Joe Biden to take executive action to cancel up to $50,000 in debt for federal student loan borrowers.

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WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?

Let me know your thoughts on the topics mentioned above or any others in a letter to the editor of 200 words or less emailed to Letters@Dispatch.com.

Include your name, address and daytime phone number. The address and number are needed for verification and won't be published.

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Thanks for reading,

Amelia

Email: arobinson2@Dispatch.com

Twitter: @1AmeliaRobinson

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Columbus Dispatch editorial page editor and community engagement editor Amelia Robinson outside the 62 E. Broad St. newsroom on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.
Columbus Dispatch editorial page editor and community engagement editor Amelia Robinson outside the 62 E. Broad St. newsroom on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Is student loan forgiveness the worst possible thing that could happen?