Staff Reports
President Joe Biden is trying to pull a rabbit out of the hat when it comes to student loan debt relief, an endeavor he hasn’t been shy about since taking office. With federal student loan borrowers hanging onto their wallets for dear life, Biden has turned to the U.S. Department of Education in what can best be described as a last-ditch effort to lighten the load on this debt-heavy demographic. Unfortunately for him—and amusingly for the rest of us—Biden has repeatedly run into the brick wall known as reality, which has made it abundantly clear that the Constitution isn’t exactly a get-out-of-jail-free card for loan forgiveness.
The latest twist in this saga involves an interim final rule from the Department of Education designed to extend the deadline for enrollment in long-term repayment programs. Apparently, the definition of “long-term” has been stretched enough to warrant a three-year extension, pushing the deadline from July 2024 to July 2027 for programs like the Income Contingent Repayment and Pay-As-You-Earn. For a guy who promised to forgive student loans if elected, it seems the only thing he’s managed to prolong is the time before borrowers can become even more frustrated.
This whole situation serves as yet another reminder of Biden’s unyielding commitment to fulfill his 2020 election promises, regardless of whether he has the authority to do so. His repeated attempts to bypass the court system have led to nothing but dead ends, akin to a hamster on its wheel: lots of effort but no progress.
Not content with just one shot at shaking up the student loan world, the Biden administration has been on a roll, recently proposing a new rule that would greenlight one-time debt forgiveness for borrowers predicted to default. Of course, the actual process sounds complex and more like an actuarial nightmare than a straightforward solution, but that hasn’t stopped the administration from offering a shiny new solution that’s about as stable as a house of cards.
To add onto the circus, the administration announced plans to wipe out $4.5 billion in debt for over 60,000 public service workers. As the Biden team throws taxpayer dollars around like confetti, the specter of the Trump administration looms large on the horizon, ready to slap a “do not enter” sign on these measures. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Democrats launch a full-on media blitz painting any policy changes by the incoming administration as cruel and unusual punishment for students in need of relief. The only constant in this political circus is the absurdity of trying to manage the economy with borrowed promises that are turning increasingly unrealizable.
