With the pause on student loan payments slated to expire on Aug. 31, questions are swirling about what the future holds for borrowers.
Will the Biden administration extend the freeze on payments again? Will it let the freeze end and require borrowers to make payments for the first time since Mar. 2020?
Or will President Joe Biden cancel some amount of student loan debt?
Former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner (D) took to Twitter on Sunday with a statement about student loan forgiveness that generated a lot of conversation.
“FYI—Student debt cancelation isn’t paid for by the taxpayers, the federal government is the lender,” Turner wrote.
She added, “It’s costlier for the government to hold on to the debt.”
FYI—Student debt cancelation isn’t paid for by the taxpayers, the federal government is the lender.
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) August 21, 2022
It’s costlier for the government to hold on to the debt.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) asked, “Nina, who funds the government?”
Nina, who funds the government? https://t.co/JHbhhK16kX
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) August 22, 2022
“And we all know the federal government gets its revenues from the planet Xanthu,” conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg wrote.
“And we all know the federal government gets its revenues from the planet Xanthu…” https://t.co/NlDHnBBYRv
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) August 22, 2022
Check out some of the other reactions below:
Not graduating their best. https://t.co/uBgOkV1tmx
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) August 21, 2022
https://twitter.com/charlescwcooke/status/1561481831320616960
Who’s going to tell her…?🤦♂️ https://t.co/DB7MoyzNZq
— Frank LaRose (@FrankLaRose) August 22, 2022
https://twitter.com/ishapiro/status/1561468094450655235
The government has no money except your money. https://t.co/0axXJaQvOs
— Foundation for Economic Education (@feeonline) August 22, 2022
Wow, what a relief! Hey, real quick, before you go…where does the federal government get the money from? https://t.co/DkCJvHSL6T
— Nick Freitas (@NickJFreitas) August 22, 2022
Where… does she think the federal government gets its money from? https://t.co/m7PtS1XDLv
— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) August 22, 2022
https://twitter.com/AdamBaldwin/status/1561697421381357569
Where do you think the government gets the money to loan in the first place? https://t.co/bORM0IhXlu
— The🐰FOO (@PolitiBunny) August 22, 2022
🤔 Apparently, lots of “educated” people don’t know how the government is funded…
— Warren Davidson 🇺🇸 (@WarrenDavidson) August 22, 2022
Or,maybe this is actually a clever and subtle way to explain the student debt crisis?!? Education crisis?!? https://t.co/WCJRSdszOM
Tell me you don’t know how government works without saying you don’t know. https://t.co/nmDwqLl4ef
— Elisa Martinez (@elisa1121) August 22, 2022
Turner reacted to the backlash, tweeting, “I see the truth made some people mad!”
I see the truth made some people mad! https://t.co/ZY9WaZTGfb
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) August 22, 2022
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press” that Americans will soon be hearing a decision about the student loan payments.
“We’ve been talking daily about this, and I can tell you the American people will hear within the next week or so from the President and the Department of Education on what we’re going to be doing around that,” he said.
Biden is reportedly considering canceling some student loan debt.
CNN notes that borrowers currently hold $1.6 trillion in student loan debt.
Fifty-four percent of borrowers owed less than $20,000, as of March 2021, per the College Board. Meanwhile, roughly 45% of the outstanding debt was owed by 10% of borrowers who owe at least $80,000.
