Campus Reform correspondent director: ‘I knew my student loans were my responsibility’
Campus Reform correspondent director Katie Hirzel explains how Biden’s student loan handouts are unfair to those who were responsible with college loans
In response to the Biden administration's student loan handout plan announced last week, one person told Fox News Digital, "It's a no-win situation for us parents."
The president last week revealed a student loan handout plan that essentially will use taxpayer money to pay off up to $10,000 of student debt per borrower for those making less than $125,000 per year.
The plan will also cancel up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients — while extending the pause on federal student loan payments through the end of this year.
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The total cost of the loan handouts will amount to $500 billion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
The nation's federal student debt now tops $1.6 trillion after ballooning for years — while the national debt, according to the Treasury Department, is currently at $30.7 trillion.
Here are more comments in reaction to the plan that was recently announced.
‘Parents are screwed’
"My wife and I paid off our son's $160,000 in student loans because of the high interest rates — plus we did not want him to suffer with loan debts," Scott Feldman of Clay, N.Y., told Fox News Digital.
Man is shown counting his college savings fund and student loans with calculator. "This Biden college ‘payback’ is not fair to the parents who have already paid off their children’s loans," said one dad. (iStock)
"He is now in medical school, which is going to cost approximately $250,000 in loans," added Feldman about his son. "This Biden college ‘payback’ is not fair to the parents who have already paid off their children’s loans."
Feldman added, "Either way, parents are screwed. If we don’t pay them off, we have to pay high interest on them. If we do pay them off, we don’t get the free Biden money — so it's a no-win situation for us parents."
‘Simply wrong’
Said Judge Phil Ginn of Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, N.C., "President Biden’s plan to forgive student loans is simply wrong on so many levels."
"First, it is wrong because the methodology used to facilitate the process is both illegal and an unethical abuse of his executive power."
"It does nothing to solve the problem of the runaway cost of education."
He also told Fox News Digital, "It is wrong because it does nothing to solve the problem of the runaway cost of education or the abuse of power within university and administrations."
"Finally, it is wrong in that it causes even the poorest among us to pay for the excesses of the few even if promulgated under the banner of ‘education.’"
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It's part of Southern Evangelical Seminary's "overall biblical worldview," he added, to offer a "top-quality education at a cost that does not require the accumulation of burdensome debt."
‘My debt, my problem’
"Just paid off my loans in June," wrote one commenter on the Fox News Digital site. "All by myself — took me 18 years of on-time payments with a lump sum at the end."
This individual added, "I was happy to pay off the loan that I took out and understood the terms and conditions."
Family walks with a college student out the main gates of the University of Indiana campus. "My debt, my problem," one person said of student loan obligations. (iStock)
The person also wrote, "My debt, my problem" — tucking in, "Infuriating is an understatement."
‘Attempt to buy votes’
Wrote another commenter in response to an earlier Fox News Digital article, "There's absolutely no question that Joe Biden is attempting to buy votes."
Added the writer, "His ‘loan forgiveness’ does nothing to address the cost of higher education. Future generations will face the same situation."
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"This plan actually says, 'Vote for me and you won't need to be a responsible adult.'"
‘A way of caring for neighbors suffering’ under debt burden — but also ‘time for higher education to be held accountable'
"While I believe the recent loan forgiveness program to be a way of caring for our neighbors who are suffering under the burden of higher education loans, loan forgiveness does not address the broader problems [of] higher education as an industry," Dr. James Spencer, president of D.L. Moody Center in Northfield, Mass., told Fox News Digital via email.
"It is time for higher education," said one individual, "to be held accountable for the public funds they are given." (AP Images)
"If we truly care for students, we will begin taking a serious look at why higher education costs continue to increase and find ways of decreasing institutional dependence on federal and state aid programs," he added.
"Stronger, coordinated reform within higher education, coupled with the development of viable, recognized educational opportunities outside of higher education, are essential components of avoiding [the] potential for a vicious cycle of accrued student loan debt …"
He said as well, "It is time for higher education to be held accountable for the public funds they are given."
‘Young people shouldn't take on more debt than they can handle'
Wrote this commenter in response to a Fox News Digital article, "In 1974 I left college with a big loan. Took me 15 years to pay it back."
Said one husband about his feelings regarding the student loan handout, "'Irate' is an understatement."
He added, "The government was generous in giving me deferments when I needed them, which happened three times while I was out of work. But the payments continued to the end — and while it was a burden hanging over my head, I was also proud to pay off my debts."
He said further, "My opinion is that young people shouldn't take on more debt than they can handle. I didn't seek out colleges that I knew I couldn't afford without bankrupting myself."
‘Irate’ is an understatement
Said another commenter, "Irate' is an understatement. I repaid my loan after graduating in engineering and then my wife and I did without and took on a second mortgage to repay our son's loan for a STEM degree."
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The dad went on, "I am now retired and he owns a successful business he built himself through hard work — not expecting others to bail us out for bad choices and laziness, or to expect a reward for our success."
A student rides a bicycle on the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. "If kids want free college, join the military," said one person. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
He added, "Today's borrowers should do the same. America has become a nation of ‘freeloading’ off someone else's money and needs to stop — now — not be aided and abetted by our own government."
‘Join the military’
"If kids want free college, join the military," noted one person who shared a comment with Fox News Digital.
College students are shown in class recently. "I want my mortgage forgiven," wrote one individual after the student loan handout plan was announced. (iStock)
"If the government wants to do something about college debt, simply cut interest rates on student loans and bring down the costs of education," this person also wrote.
‘I want my mortgage forgiven’
One person expressed thoughts on social media very simply with a single statement: "I want my mortgage forgiven."
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‘Everyone loves Santa Claus’
Said still another individual on social media, "Everyone loves Santa Claus."
Along with that written comment, the person attached an emoji of Santa.
Angelica Stabile of Fox News Digital contributed reporting to this article.
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