The Freedom to Prosper Blog | Freedom to Prosper

Update on Student Debt Cancellation

October 26, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team
The Student Loan Debt Relief Application is now available! Already 22 million Americans have applied without any glitch or difficulty, and thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, student loan borrowers are one step closer towards becoming debt-free. But the recent legal snag has left some borrowers confused. It might feel like a roller coaster of emotions, but experts agree that the best thing borrowers can do for now is to apply.

Student Loan Debt Relief Application Now Available!

October 17, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team
The Student Loan Debt Relief Application is finally here! We applaud the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing commitment to help students with the relief they need. The U.S. Department of Education has created a short and simple application process.

Mid-Term Elections: I AM A STUDENT DEBT VOTER

October 3, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper

Every election seems more consequential than the last. So much is on the ballot this November: reproductive rights, a livable economy, and the future of our democracy. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Now that the Biden Administration is cancelling up to $20,000 of public student loan debt, we’re urging borrowers and their loved ones to engage in the political process by telling their friends: they are Student Debt Voters!

White House Official Fact Sheet on Student Debt Cancellation Benefits

September 20, 2022

Today, the White House released state-by-state data on how the Biden-Harris Administration’s plan for student debt relief will benefit borrowers in all fifty states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit StudentAid.gov/debtrelief

Student Debt Cancellation Is Far From “Elitist”

September 14, 2022
By: David A. Bergeron

One potentially potent argument against cancelling federal student loan is that such an action is inherently elitist benefiting only those who went to a four-year college or university to earn a bachelor’s degree. However, such a view is not rooted in the facts about who receives federal student loans and for what kinds of programs.

The HEROES Act

September 9, 2022
By: David A. Bergeron

Nearly a decade ago, the U.S. Department of Education published a notice under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act) which promised relief to people impacted by military operations or national emergency including those who:

The “Unthinkable” Idea Becomes a Reality

August 29, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team
When Mary Green Swig and Steven Swig began working on the issue of student debt in 2014, the idea of cancelling that debt was considered unthinkable in most quarters. The organization that became Freedom to Prosper was founded on the principle that education, including higher education, is a public good that serves the national community as well as students.

How Student Debt Cancellation Would Impact These Americans

August 8, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

The heavy student debt burden impacts the lives of 47 million Americans and their families on a day-to-day basis. Parents are skipping meals to feed their kids. Couples delay getting married. Homeownership is out of reach, and many are struggling with mental health. Read more about these personal stories.

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.

Biden Administration Unveils Proposals to Expand and Improve Student Debt Relief Programs

July 13, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

Last week, the Biden Administration released a package of policy proposals to continue its commitment to relieving borrowers and making student loan programs work.

When it comes to student debt, is the U.S. a “banker” or a “builder” of the future?

June 29, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

With all the talk of student debt repayments, the U.S. government is thinking more like a “banker” than a builder of social good. Government policy has become too focused on student debt itself – dollars and cents – rather than on what should be its ultimate goal: educating and building our nation’s collective future. We know how it happened – bit by bit.

Student Debt Cancellation Decision Nears…

June 23, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

President Biden confirmed this week that a decision on student debt cancellation will likely be announced soon. Many insiders predict the announcement will happen in August alongside a set of policy recommendations for Congress to enact to make college more affordable for more Americans. Biden also said another extension of the student-loan repayment moratorium is “on the table.” A further extension would be the seventh time since the beginning of the pandemic.

NEW POLL: Majority of Americans Support Student Debt Cancellation

June 20, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team
A new NPR / Ipsos poll reveals a majority of Americans (55%) support student debt cancellation, and most Americans agree that higher education needs to be more affordable. In this poll, eighty-four percent of student loan borrowers supported $10,000 in cancellation, 78% supported $50,000 and over two-thirds (68%) supported cancelling all student loan debt. This signals that student debt cancellation is not only good policy, it’s good politics.

Roadmap for a Student Debt-Free Future

June 13, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

Support for student debt cancellation continues to build amongst policy-makers, economists, major labor unions, and millions of families across the country. And while student debt cancellation gets closer and closer to becoming a reality, we also must focus on policies that plug the firehose of student debt from accumulating for the next generation of students.

Student Debt Cancellation is “Elitist”? Heck no.

May 18, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

Knowing that our movement to #CancelStudentDebt continues to build significant momentum in Washington, D.C. and across the nation, the GOP is now trying to brand this important economic policy as “elitist,” benefitting only the rich, affluent, white-collar workers. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

How Student Debt Affects Home Ownership

May 16, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

For each generation, building wealth in the U.S. has been historically tied to becoming a homeowner. Homeownership is one of the few sure ways families can enter the middle class and gain economic mobility. However, homeownership is becoming far out of reach for most Americans, especially for Millennials and those tied down with student debt. In the past 12 years, student loan balances have quadrupled and is now the second largest form of household debt, behind only home mortgages.

Biden Administration cancels $6.8 billion through Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

May 12, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

The U.S Department of Education announced that it will cancel $6.8 billion in student debt for more than 110,000 borrowers through its Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. On average, $60,000 worth of debt per borrower will be canceled after President Biden made changes to the program. Nonprofit and government employees now have the option of their federal student loan debt being canceled after 10 years or 120 payments.

Student Loan Interest Rates Are Set To Rise in 2023… Further Widening The Racial Wealth Gap

May 10, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

Next year’s borrowers will have to take out a new loan at a higher interest rate than in previous years. Federal student loan rates change in the month of May per the U.S. Treasury Department’s auction of 10-year notes. Interest rates are most likely to change from the current 3.73% rate for undergraduate loans to 5.1%. It’s worse for graduate students as interest rates will likely jump from the current 5.28% to an estimated 6.66%.

Student Loan Borrowers Get Additional Relief Now

April 20, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

After years of complaints, the U.S. Department of Education announced it will retroactively help millions of federal student loan borrowers who were impacted and held back by income-driven repayment (IDR) plans. DOE called the IDR flaws “inexcusable.”

The IDR plans originally promised affordable monthly payments as low as $0 and student loan forgiveness after twenty or twenty-five years.

Biden Administration Extends Student Debt Moratorium to August 31st

April 6, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team
Today, the Biden Administration announced the extension of student debt repayments from May 1st to August 31st, the sixth extension since the beginning of the pandemic. Roughly 37 million borrowers have been waiting to hear whether or not payments would resume, and for most of them, it will be the first time they would have to start making payments since the pause began back in March 2020.

Good News for Student Borrowers?

April 4, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team
Student loan borrowers and lawmakers have been awaiting news on whether or not student loan repayments will resume this May. Although we have yet to hear anything official from the White House, experts surmise that federal student loan repayments will be extended once again.

100,000 New Borrowers Now Eligible for Student Loan Debt Forgiveness

March 28, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

The Biden Administration announced changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, and since October, the Department of Education has identified 100,000 student loan borrowers who are now eligible for cancellations under the PSLF program. In the past, the program was notoriously difficult to navigate and few applicants ever received loan forgiveness. The program is now benefitting more borrowers than ever now that previous requirements have been waived until October 2022.

Failed Joint Consolidation Loans Still Wreaking Havoc

March 8, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

Between 1993 and 2006, married couples were allowed to consolidate their federal student loans. For many, this was a positive development. They could make one student loan payment per month instead of two. Often, a couple was able to pay less than they would have been required to. However, the ability to consolidate in this manner had an obvious potential flaw: divorce happens and when loans were consolidated the divorced couples were still liable for their partner’s loan.

Reimburse Our Students for Their Education… and Their Patriotism

February 23, 2022
By: Mary and Steven Swig, Richard Eskow & David Bergeron

Patriot. It’s a simple word, but one that’s too often misunderstood. Merriam-Webster, the oldest dictionary in the United States, defines a “patriot” as “one who loves and supports his or her country.” People support their country in many different ways. Some wear a uniform. Others drive trucks, work assembly lines, serve meals, or provide medical care. But only one form of support – one kind of “patriotism” – forces people to go deeply into debt in order to serve. They’re the people who continue their educations past high school – in colleges, trade schools, and other post-secondary education programs.

The people who have student debt in this country are patriots.

Biden Administration Cancels Another $415 Million in Student Loan Debt

February 21, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper team

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced that it will forgive another $415 million in student loan debt for 16,000 borrowers, specifically for defrauded students who were victims of for-profit colleges and scams. This decision adds to the $15 billion in federal student loans already forgiven during President Joe Biden’s presidency.

AOC: Borrowers shouldn’t resume student loan payments in May

February 11, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team
In a recent interview, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said, “I cannot understate the danger and the risk — economically, politically, and just where we are right now as a country — of allowing the moratorium on student loan payments to lapse in May.”

Some economists and advocates argue the U.S. economy has been “okay” without student loan repayments, so should the moratorium be extended indefinitely?

7 Ways to Prepare for Your Student Loan Repayments in May

February 2, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

Here at Freedom to Prosper, we’re working every day towards full and complete student debt cancellation because it will give 47 million Americans and their families a greater opportunity to prosper. It’s also the moral and right thing to do.

In the meantime, Betsy Mayotte, founder of the Institute of Student Loan Advisors – a nonprofit organization that offers free counseling to borrowers, recently shared advice with NPR on ways to prepare for student loan repayments if and when they resume in May. Check out the seven ways.

President Biden Renews Pledge to Sign Student Debt Cancellation Bill

January 31, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper
During a White House Press Briefing this week, Press Secretary Jen Psaki touted the administration’s progress on student debt relief for borrowers, and renewed President Biden’s pledge to sign a student debt cancellation bill.

WATCH: Cancelling Student Debt: Ethics and Economics (w/Economist Marshall Steinbaum)

January 24, 2022
By: Richard Eskow

Economist Marshall Steinbaum recently appeared on The Zero Hour with RJ Eskow to discuss the economic and ethical issues surrounding student debt cancellation. Steinbaum is a Senior Fellow in Higher Education Finance at the Jain Family Institute and is a professor at the University of Utah. He is one of the authors of a seminal 2018 study from the Levy Economics Institute on the macroeconomic impact of student debt.

NAACP President, “If you can afford to pause student loan payments over and over again, you can afford to cancel it.”

January 18, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

Has the U.S. economy been ‘ok’ without your student debt payments? That’s what economic professor Marshall Steinbaum argues in a recent Business Insider story. It’s been almost two years since 47 million student loan borrowers had to pay monthly student loan bills.

Good News! President Biden Extends Student Loan Payments to May 1st

January 12, 2022
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

Student debt holders rejoiced over the recent news that President Biden extended the student loan repayments from January 31st to May 1st, allowing millions of borrowers to keep hundreds of dollars in their pockets each month. With inflation causing the rising costs of food, gas, and goods, that means millions of families will have additional resources to make ends meet.

Reimburse College Students for their Contributions to Society

December 16, 2021
By: Freedom to Prosper Team
It’s well known and understood that higher education benefits society, from workforce productivity, creativity, problem-solving, innovation, and more. And yet, while greater American society relies on the college and universities to prepare each successive generation for the future, we have been forcing students and their families to take on personal debt to pay for these benefits to society. That’s wrong. It’s time to #ReimburseOurStudents – both for their hard work, and for the debts we’ve forced them to take on our behalf.

Let’s Rethink “Student Debt.” Instead, Opportunity and Investment for All of Us.

December 7, 2021
By: Freedom to Prosper Team
Student debt is a phrase with many negative connotations and infers a heavy burden on the individual. However, in the debates over addressing astronomic levels of student loan debt, we often fail to think about what student debt truly means to society. It is time to shift the narrative: when a student has significant debt, we need to think of it as a societal investment on our collective future.

In One Year: $11.5 Billion in Student Debt Canceled and Counting

November 22, 2021
By: Freedom to Prosper Team
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced that it is canceling $2 billion of student loans through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. This change would mark $11.5 billion in student loans canceled since the start of the Biden Presidency.

Beyond Higher Ed: The “Wall Street-style” funding of K-12 schools

September 2, 2021
By: Freedom to Prosper Team

According to the New York Times, school debt for children from kindergarten through twelfth grade rose to nearly $500 billion across the country in 2019, a 118 percent increase from 2002. Unlike college debt, which is owed by individual students, this debt is carried by cities and towns around the country that have been forced to borrow to keep schools open.

The “Value” of Student Debt – and the People Who Hold It

May 17, 2021
By: David Bergeron

A recent Wall Street Journal article questions the “value” of the student loans held on the books of the U.S. Department of Education. The article reports that a retired banker had reviewed those books and determined that recent changes in repayment patterns, particularly among those who default but are attempting to repay, means that the federal government is losing money on these loans.

Student Loans Just Keep on Coming

April 26, 2021
By: David Bergeron

Many people have experienced the frustration of print or online subscriptions that “auto-renew,” incurring another year’s worth of cost whether they want it or not. Many services and publications hide these auto-renew provisions in the fine print, leading to unwanted expense or difficulty. What many people don’t realize is that something like that happens in the U.S. student loan system, often adding many thousands of dollars to a borrower’s debt.

Consolidation of student loans could help you get relief – but the Education Department can’t tell you that

April 14, 2021

By: David Bergeron

During the pandemic, emergency relief has been provided to many federal student loan borrowers. This relief has included suspension of loan payments, cession of collection on defaulted student loans, and resetting the interest rate on some federal student loans to zero. But, until recently, this relief was limited to loans held by the U.S. Department of Education.

Social Security Garnishment is A Broken Social Trust

April 6, 2021

By: Richard Eskow

Many people are surprised to learn that Social Security checks can be garnished to pay for student loan debt. In a recent development on that front, reports show that many people on Social Security disability insurance have not received the student debt relief they’re entitled to. According to a recent MarketWatch article:

Freedom Dreamers: The Many Faces of Student Debt

October 26, 2020

By: Richard Eskow, Mary Green Swig, Steven Swig, and David Bergeron

In a recent Instagram discussion about student debt for the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Ilhan Omar quoted Black Lives Matter founder Alicia Garza as saying, “We’re not freedom fighters, we’re freedom dreamers.” Rep. Omar, who has student debt of her own, went on to say: “We can all dream, and envision, and make it happen: a world without student debt.”

A cruel experiment: How 46 million people were trapped by student debt

September 15, 2020

By: Mary Green Swig, Steven Swig, Richard Eskow, and David Bergeron

The democratic principle of tuition-free education in our country pre-dates the founding of the United States. The first public primary education was offered in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635, and its legislature created Harvard College the following year to make education available to all qualified students.

I Am a Student Debt Voter! #CancelStudentDebt

This upcoming election is paramount for our economic future

Add your name and join our national movement of Student Debt Voters!

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has wounded our economy, forced a number of industries to grind to a halt, and put nearly 80 million American jobs at risk. Meanwhile, student debt has soared to an all-time high of $1.7 trillion, even as millions of borrowers face an uncertain economic future.