Student Debt Forgiveness Sounds Good. What Might Happen If The Government Did It?

July 10, 2019

By: Clare Lombardo

Source: NPR

Americans owe about $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. That’s about twice the current budget for the Defense Department and around 22 times the budget for the Education Department.

About one in every six American adults owes money on a federal student loan. So it makes sense that candidates for the 2020 presidential election have proposed ways of dealing with this debt to allow millions of Americans to move on. Their proposals vary.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., says she would forgive “up to $50,000 in student loan debt for 42 million Americans.” Her plan would cancel up to $50,000 in debt for individuals with a household income of under $100,000. The plan wouldn’t take away debt for people with a household income above $250,000. Those in the middle would have loans canceled based on how much they make — the more you earn, the less would be forgiven.

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