T’Ahara Willis | Sept. 16, 2022
Staff Writer
On Aug. 24, President Biden announced that federal student loan debt would be canceled for middle to low income borrowers earning less than $125,000 in income.
According to the press statement released by the White House, the nationwide federal student loan debt cancellation process will begin early in October.
Borrowers earning an income under $125,000 will have their debt cancellation number up to $10,000. Pell Grant recipients can receive up to $20,000.
Over 43 million borrowers will be provided relief. This fulfills the promise President Biden made during his campaign to provide student debt relief.
According to the fact sheet on whitehouse.gov, the total cost of both public and private colleges have tripled since the 1980’s. There was a time when Pell Grants covered up to 80% of the cost of a four-year public college, but now only a third of cost for tuition in public institutions are covered.
With over $1.6 trillion federal student loan debt accumulated nationally, a significant burden has been left on America’s middle class, the cause stemming from inflated college costs.
With overbearing student loan debt, America’s middle class faces challenges building wealth, buying homes, putting away money for retirement, and starting small businesses.
With students being the beneficiaries of the new Student Debt Relief Plan, a couple of students have commented on what this new plan provided by the Biden-Harris Administration means to them.
“I feel like it’s a good opportunity,” said Madison Meares, a senior undergraduate psychology major. “Some people like minorities, in order for them to go to college they have to take out student loans, which causes a deficit. It would be nice for me because then I can just focus on my graduate studies.”
“I need it because with my chosen line of career it will be very hard to manage [ student loan debt],” said Aaron Santos, a senior musical performance major. “It would be nice to be financially comfortable or stable when going into my career.”
Florida Southern College’s Department of Financial Aid stated, “the one-time Student Loan Relief initiative will be very helpful to students who received federal student loans as of June 30 of the year 2022.”