Should Biden Cancel Unpaid Interest for Some Student Loan Borrowers?

Commentary surrounding President Joe Biden’s latest student loan interest cancellation plan echoed previous partisan reactions to student debt forgiveness.

The Details: The plan would cancel up to $20,000 in unpaid interest for borrowers who earn less than $120,000 and owe more than their initial loan amount.

Lawless ‘Bribe’: As previously, voices opposing Biden’s latest plan often framed it as “directly bribing Dem voters,” as the New York Post (Opinion rated Right) Editorial Board wrote. Others framed Biden as ignoring a Supreme Court decision that shot down his previous loan forgiveness attempt; the Wall Street Journal (Opinion rated Lean Right) Editorial Board said “King Joseph” was pursuing a “lawless” plan.

‘A Winner’: While columnists at larger left-rated news outlets appeared quiet on the issue, several voices from the left came to Biden’s defense. An MSNBC (Left bias) opinion writer called Biden’s latest plan “a smart pivot” in the face of the Supreme Court’s rejection of a previous plan, adding that the focus on interest helped avoid “accusations that the program is unfair to those who already paid their loans in full.” 

Is Student Loan Debt a Fair Burden? A columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal (Center bias) criticized liberals for purportedly refusing to accept that “adults who benefit from higher education should pay off the loans they accepted with open eyes,” labeling debt forgiveness as “welfare for the better educated.” However, a Los Angeles Times (Lean Left bias) columnist framed conservative critics as letting “envy” cloud their minds, arguing that student debt was treacherous for “the bottom 20% of earners” who he said needed college to get ahead.