Assignment task:
Does validation include scenarios, specific examples, and explanations to support why your views are logical, sensible, and practical?
Are sources correctly cited with credentialing, speaker tags, and parenthetical citations as needed? Are partial quotes smoothly weaved into the essay rather than dumped as a full quote?
The use of student loans would on the one hand allow more adults to earn a college degree however, the use of student loans has created paralyzing debt for borrowers. In an attempt to alleviate educational debt incurred due to student loans, the Biden Administration is seeking to provide some form of student loan forgiveness. In August 2022, President Biden introduced the student loan forgiveness plan. Conceptually, the student loan forgiveness would be awarded to individuals in the amount of ten thousand dollars per recipient for borrowers earning less than one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars a year (Black). There is an enormous degree of confusion and misinformation concerning what the student loan forgiveness plan will offer if passed. While some Americans are excited and feel the debt relief plan will revitalize the economy, others are unsure if tax dollars should be used to alleviate student loan debt. Many of the supporters of the Biden student loan forgiveness plan assert that "Out-of-control college costs and crushing student loan debt are everyone's problem" (Granderson).
Whereas opposers of student loan forgiveness consider this plan to be a "breathtaking attempt to grab power" (Supreme Court). Some Americans who have paid off their student loans or paid their own way through college feel the loan forgiveness plan is rewarding the irresponsibility of others. Other skeptics are frightened that their taxes will increase beyond what they can afford. Missouri Attorney General argues that "I paid for my education in blood, sweat, and tears..." (Douglas-Gabriel). The understanding is that each person should "pull their own weight," implying that the student loan forgiveness plan would undermine the hard work that the Attorney General and others put into achieving their college education.
Many opponents of the plan feel that it is an overreach of presidential power. Those against the forgiveness plan question if the presidential administration has the authority to make a decision of this magnitude. Originally, the Biden Administration planned to use the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act to implement the student loan forgiveness plan under the claim that the nation was currently in an emergency situation. (Black). However, the use of the Education Relief plan was struck down by the Supreme Court who deemed that "President Biden does not have authority for his roughly four hundred-billion-dollar program to forgive student loan debt" (Supreme Court). The Biden Administration possessed a new, more modest student loan forgiveness plan to try and address dissenters' concerns.
Researching the student loan forgiveness dilemma has opened my eyes to the crippling effects of mounting student loan debt carried by one out of every two students (Safier). According to an USA Today article, 2021-2022 statistics show that fifty-one percent of individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree will graduate with student loan debt (Safier). With the large number of citizens confronting student loan debt, the forgiveness plan could help more citizens freely participate in America's economy by enabling them to redirect student loan repayment funds toward other essential purchases or investments. The USA Today article reported that according to recent 2024 statistics student loan debt stands at over 1.7 trillion with ninety percent of these loans being federal student loan debt (Safier). In addition, USA Today reports that, "total student loan debt has tripled in the past fifteen years" (Safier). These statistics show the vast number of citizens would benefit from the federal student loan forgiveness plan. Owing excess student loans hinders citizens ability to fully participate in the economy through important milestones such as buying a home or starting a family. USA Today confirms that it takes the average student loan borrower more than twenty years to pay off their educational debt (Safier).