Pay Your Debt
The Biden Administration has made it a priority to relieve borrowers of their student loan obligation. Never mind that those who benefit most are actually highly-paid professionals, because they racked up the most debt along with the best ability to repay. Never mind that the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the scheme as illegal. Each new order means a new lawsuit to challenge it, and the Biden folks—both in the administration and the campaign—apparently think it’s a great campaign issue, so they plow ahead.
That’s not the view of Americans, however. A new poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that regardless of the specific provision, not even half of Americans support this debt bailout.
Only 3 out of 10 U.S. adults surveyed say they approve of the Biden actions, while 4 out of 10 disapprove. Even among those who are responsible for student debt, either their own or a family member’s, only 36 percent approve of the handouts.
This poll was conducted in mid-May of more than 1,300 adults and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.7 percentage points.
Even for people who now owe more than they borrowed, due to interest, only 44 percent support a bailout. Only 4 out of 10 support loan forgiveness for those who left school with large amounts of debt compared with their current income.
Apparently the American principles of “pay your own way” and “get yourself out of trouble you caused” are still alive and well. And in this case, correct in the face of a blatant election stunt to buy votes.
