Commonwealth Policy Center

The Biden administration approved the cancellation of almost $132 billion dollars in student loan debt for almost 3.6 million people. Many are praising this effort, especially those whose loans were forgiven. One of those people is a woman named Debra, who said she burst into tears when she was told her loan was forgiven. While the joy of having your debt forgiven is understandable, we should ask, “Is this right?” Many students have gotten themselves in over their heads with debt, but why should all of society to bear the cost? Student loan forgiveness is a slap in the face to responsible students who worked, scrimped, and paid their own way. People are free to make choices about going to school and their amount of indebtedness, but we lose our freedom when the rest of society is forced to pay another’s debt.