Student Debt Cancellation Could Motivate Voters

July 29, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

“In an era of declining wages and rising debt, Americans are not aging out of their student loans—they are aging into them.”

Recently in The New Yorker, author Eleni Shirmer highlights the rising age of student loan borrowers in America and dissolves the notion that this debt burden only affects younger recent graduates.

She writes, “Americans aged sixty-two and older are the fastest-growing demographic of student borrowers. Of the forty-five million Americans who hold student debt, one in five are over fifty years old… Although most older student debtors have borrowed money for their own education, approximately one-third have taken out loans on behalf of a child or grandchild.”

We have written extensively about how student loans have become a run-away train of unintended consequences. Compounding interest rates, low wages, and a volatile economy have sent loan balances soaring, making repayment nearly impossible for many borrowers.

Student Debt Cancellation is a Motivating Issue

Because midterm voters generally skew older, an argument could be made that student debt cancellation could motivate more Democrats and moderate Independent voters – young and old alike. Political scientists are speculating Democrats will lose control of the House, so could student debt relief help drive a margin of victory on Election Day?

Student debt cancellation has become a highly charged political issue – with the Left advocating louder than before and GOP Congressmembers ramping up their efforts to prevent progress on the issue. And some argue the Supreme Court’s recent decision to limit the Environmental Protection Agency could also impact President Joe Biden’s authority to cancel federal student loan debt.

The debate will get more attention as the August 31st loan repayment deadline approaches, and Democratic candidates and political operatives should take a hard look at capitalizing on student debt cancellation as a winning issue this Fall. It’s why we fully support extending the student loan repayment moratorium and continuing to provide economic relief for millions of borrowers and their families. It’s the right thing to do.

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