👩🏼‍🎓 Is Student Loan Forgiveness A Good Idea?

3 arguments against forgiveness. 3 rebuttals. And 3 questions.

Last week President Biden announced plans to forgive billions of dollars in student loan debt. Student loan forgiveness is politically popular and often seen as a viable way to both combat inequality and increase economic output.

So why isn’t everyone on board?

Why forgive student debt in the first place?

It’s not just the price of gas and furniture - the cost of education in America has also gone up and has been rising steadily for decades. Most Americans take on debt to pay for the cost of higher education, irrespective of how much education they receive.

It’s super easy to take on this debt. Think about it, banks lend over $100,000 to students who have no income (try getting a $100,000 home mortgage loan with no income). That easy money comes at a price because lenders make student loans very difficult to discharge or defer - some student loans even transcend death.

Since 1980, college tuition and fees are up 1,200%, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all ite…