Last Tuesday, February 23, Joe Biden reaffirmed on a CNN townhall that he does not support cancelling student debt past $10,000 per person.
The US Department of Education – a department under Biden’s authority – is estimated to own about 92% of the $1.6 trillion in outstanding student loan debt. For this reason, many legal scholars say that Biden has the authority right now to cancel this debt through a presidential executive order – if he wanted to!
In explaining why he was against this, he pretended to be in support of working class and poor people by arguing that cancelling student debt disproportionately benefits the wealthy, as they are the ones who tend to be able to afford expensive colleges. He also tried to disingenuously sympathize with the audience member who asked the question, saying he too was being crushed by student loan payments he is helping pay for his kids and grandkids, despite the fact his family is worth millions of dollars.
We see through Biden’s lies though. The real reason he only supports limited debt reduction is because he represents the banks and financial community, not ordinary people! Biden has a made his career as a politician serving the interests of banks, credit card companies, and other financial institutions in D.C. In fact, Biden famously supported a bill in 2005 to restrict bankruptcy protections for student debt, which helped make the student loan crisis even worse today!
If student loan debt is cancelled, this means that loans, interest payments, and other fees won’t end up in the coffers of the banks. Biden is there to serve the banks and make sure their money keeps flowing. He is not there to serve us and get rid of the debt that puts limits on our future!
