Letters to the Editor: Biden’s debt relief plan was clumsy. Here’s how he should have crafted it

To the editor: Regardless of where one falls on the issue of student loan debt relief, President Biden’s debt forgiveness plan, which the U.S. Supreme Court overturned, was unfair and fraught with bad consequences.

Any plan that does not recognize in some fashion those students (or their parents) who paid off their loans is inherently unfair. Any plan that blatantly features incentives for current and future student loan borrowers to not even consider paying back their loans is unfair to taxpayers and bad economics.

Biden missed a great opportunity to use loan forgiveness to vastly increase existing forgiveness programs for public and military service as well as to promote student participation in critical professions that currently have massive shortages of trained employees, like nurses and teachers.

In reality, Biden’s student loan flim-flam was in many ways reminiscent of just how former President Trump would have tried to pull off one of his goofy scams. Bad form all around.

Mike Post, Los Osos

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To the editor: The middle class is being eviscerated by indebtedness. A significant accelerant of family debt has been student loan balances that have skyrocketed since institutions of higher learning decided they deserve an upfront chunk (via tuition increases) of what their alumni will earn in a lifetime.

This is particularly galling since it is increasingly clear that a college degree does not guarantee a substantial increase in lifetime earnings. Many graduates are chronically underemployed, stuck in dead-end jobs and plagued by significant monthly student loan debt service, with no real opportunity to get ahead.

The Supreme Court invoking the “major questions doctrine” to invalidate student loan forgiveness is an unconscionable tragedy that ensures the subjugation of millions of people to an onerous debt burden.

As a proud recipient of low-cost public school education at every level of my academic and professional development, I am heartbroken to see opportunity and social mobility slipping away from so many Americans.

Paul H. Brown, Newport Beach

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To the editor: I think we all can appreciate how bloated college tuition is today.

But instead of the government forgiving portions of loans, why can’t the overcharging universities pony up some relief to students? Many attend schools with obscene endowments that could be used to reduce current student debt and also to lower future tuition.

Jill Chapin, Santa Monica

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To the editor: Republicans are cheering the Supreme Court ruling that denies Biden’s plan to forgive some student debt. It’s not fair, they say.

But in 2017, under the Trump administration, Republicans eagerly passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was projected to increase the national debt by $1.9 trillion over the next 10 years and benefit primarily corporations and high-worth individuals.

Apparently, giving government financial aid to wealthy Americans is worthwhile, but helping middle- and lower-income Americans isn’t.

Sandra Krist, Studio City