Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness a slap in the face

It is very frustrating to read that President Joe Biden has now forgiven $5 billion of student debt for 74,000 students. The debt was supposedly used for education. However, as we all know, there is no tracking of the funds and they can be used for housing and meals and books and so on. The principal reason for student loans is to enable someone to get an education so that they may secure gainful employment. If they are unable to repay the loans, that is their failure and shouldn’t require federal government intervention. There is plenty of evidence that the loans were abused and used for other expenses not intended to be covered by the lenders.

The government is absolutely sending the wrong message by bailing these people out. What’s next, people who are struggling with credit card debt? The more the government is willing to supplement people’s livelihood, the less likely they are to fend for themselves. Forgiving the debt is a slap in the face to all of the parents and students who paid for their own education. The government is, in effect, rewarding failure. It seems like they want to punish success through higher taxes and reward failure with loan forgiveness. This needs to stop.

Patrick DePalma

Cedar Rapids