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Inside Higher Ed reported yesterday "we'd like to see 100% forgiveness of those ripped-off by for-profits & bad-actor, high-priced colleges with unconscionably high dropout rates." That’s true. But there’s more to our position and a deeper explanation. 1/8
The #CARESAct wrongly does not include a borrower optional payment moratorium w/out interest accrual for those with Perkins loans, commercially owned FFEL loans, or private student loans. Over 10 million borrowers were left hanging. That should be remedied in a Phase IV bill. 2/8
But let’s focus more on student loan debt cancelation. We're pro-loan forgiveness for those in public service & those with very low-incomes as per improved PSLF & IDR programs. But much earlier debt cancelation is in order in a Phase IV bill as well for a subset of borrowers. 3/8
The federal government bears responsibility for student loan borrowers served badly by rip-off colleges. Fact is the U.S. Department of Education operates like a predatory lender with regard to those students. 4/8
What would you call an entity that makes loans at above market interest rates to borrowers to attend schools from which it knows they're highly unlikely to graduate & in turn highly unlikely to earn enough to pay off their debt w/out default? I'd call it a predatory lender. 5/8
So yes, we'd like to see 100% student debt cancelation for those ripped-off by for-profit schools & bad-actor, high-priced colleges with unconscionably high dropout rates. The federal government should stop its predatory lending & make up for those harmed by it in the past. 6/8
Below is polling on targeted student debt cancelation. We commissioned the poll, conducted by Obama and Clinton's former pollster, the Benenson Strategy Group. 69% of all voters (Ds, Rs, & Is) support that type of student loan debt cancelation. 7/8
A Phase IV bill should fill student loan relief gaps left by the #CARESAct. And going forward, the federal gov't should support postsecondary education access for at-risk students with grants, not loans. It costs a lot, but massive default and rising inequality costs more. /END
