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“Can He Do That?” is The Washington Post’s politics podcast, exploring presidential power in the face of weakened institutions, a divided electorate and eroded political norms.
Will the president cancel student debt?
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, an economist, and a student all weigh in on what to do — or not — about student debt, in this first episode in our occasional series about the policy challenges that President Biden might face during his first year in office.
Thursday, April 15, 2021
In May of 1965, Joe Biden graduated from the University of Delaware. At the time, the United States was about to ramp up its involvement in one of the worst wars of the nation’s history. Lyndon B. Johnson had just won reelection and for the small percentage of the population like Biden who attended college, the average cost of a university degree — room and board included — was less than $10,000 a year.
Today, things are a little bit different. A four-year degree at a public university can cost more than double what it did when Biden went to school. Private universities are even more expensive, costing an average of $50,000 for just one year.
That’s nearly as much as the income of the average American household in 2020.
So for many students, that huge cost means they have to resort to taking on a lot of debt to pay for their education. The average American is now exiting college with more than $30,000 of student debt — with some even taking on six-figure debt burdens before they’re 25.
As the amount of student debt held by Americans has collectively grown past a trillion dollars, so have the calls from advocates for the president and Congress to address the issue and reduce the debt burden.
The Biden administration has already taken actions to help defrauded and disabled borrowers.
But leaders in Congress and the Democratic Party are calling on Biden to go further and eliminate up to $50,000 of student loan debt for all Americans.
Biden, however, says he’s undecided on whether he’ll go that far.
Critics, meanwhile, have questioned whether the president even has the authority to forgive huge amounts of student loan debt.
So does the president have the power to unilaterally cancel student debt? Would a policy of loan cancellation actually improve economic mobility, as its advocates say, and help Americans who are struggling?
On this episode of the“Can He Do That?” podcast, Sen. Elizabeth Warren(D-Mass.) and economist Sandy Baumweigh in on what to do — or not — about student debt. This episode is the first in our occasional series“Year One: The Issues” about the policy challenges that Biden might have to contend with during his first year in office.
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Will the president cancel student debt?
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, an economist, and a student all weigh in on what to do — or not — about student debt, in this first episode in our occasional series about the policy challenges that President Biden might face during his first year in office.
Thursday, April 15, 2021
In May of 1965, Joe Biden graduated from the University of Delaware. At the time, the United States was about to ramp up its involvement in one of the worst wars of the nation’s history. Lyndon B. Johnson had just won reelection and for the small percentage of the population like Biden who attended college, the average cost of a university degree — room and board included — was less than $10,000 a year.
Today, things are a little bit different. A four-year degree at a public university can cost more than double what it did when Biden went to school. Private universities are even more expensive, costing an average of $50,000 for just one year.
That’s nearly as much as the income of the average American household in 2020.
So for many students, that huge cost means they have to resort to taking on a lot of debt to pay for their education. The average American is now exiting college with more than $30,000 of student debt — with some even taking on six-figure debt burdens before they’re 25.
As the amount of student debt held by Americans has collectively grown past a trillion dollars, so have the calls from advocates for the president and Congress to address the issue and reduce the debt burden.
The Biden administration has already taken actions to help defrauded and disabled borrowers.
But leaders in Congress and the Democratic Party are calling on Biden to go further and eliminate up to $50,000 of student loan debt for all Americans.
Biden, however, says he’s undecided on whether he’ll go that far.
Critics, meanwhile, have questioned whether the president even has the authority to forgive huge amounts of student loan debt.
So does the president have the power to unilaterally cancel student debt? Would a policy of loan cancellation actually improve economic mobility, as its advocates say, and help Americans who are struggling?
On this episode of the“Can He Do That?” podcast, Sen. Elizabeth Warren(D-Mass.) and economist Sandy Baumweigh in on what to do — or not — about student debt. This episode is the first in our occasional series“Year One: The Issues” about the policy challenges that Biden might have to contend with during his first year in office.
Related reading and episodes
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