Student Debt Cancellation

Rumors are swirling that Biden is considering canceling a large portion, or potentially all, of federal student debt. 

I think that cancelling loan debt causes greater problems than it solves. My biggest concern is what incentives it would possibly create, not the least of which would be encouraging colleges to raise, not lower tuition. And, as you said, the slap in the face it is for people who either paid off their loans at great inconvenience or simply went to less costly programs. It would also be a pro inflationary measure.

Something needs to be done. I liked the talk of income sharing agreements years back (we get x% of your income for x amount of years and then you don’t owe us anything else, differing years and percentages based on degree). It’s good because if you aren’t making much money, they don’t take much. You won’t be struggling for interest payments in most cases 

Andrew Yang suggested if you pay 10% of your income for 10 years the balance should be forgiven. I think that’s fair, or something close to it. But forgiving the debt of doctors and lawyers who just graduated is disgusting. If he does cancel some debt it better be capped at some modest level or I’ll be furious 

Can The President Cancel All Federal Student Loans?

The President does not have the legal authority to forgive student loans on his own. Only Congress has the power of the purse. Executive action can be used only when it has been specifically authorized by Congress.

The executive branch cannot spend money that has not been appropriated by Congress, per 31 USC 1301 et seq (Antideficiency Act (P.L. 97-258)) and Article I, Section 7, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution.

The claims that the President has the authority to forgive student loans are based on a misreading of the Higher Education Act of 1965 at 20 USC 1082(a)(6). That section of the Higher Education Act of 1965 provides the U.S. Secretary of Education with the authority to: 

“...modify, compromise, waive, or release any right, title, claim, lien, or demand, however acquired, including any equity or any right of redemption.”

But that quote is taken out of context. The preamble to that section of the Higher Education Act of 1965 limits this authority to operating within the scope of the statute:

“In the performance of, and with respect to, the functions, powers, and duties, vested in him by this part, the Secretary may—"

In other words, when Congress authorizes a loan forgiveness program, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Teacher Loan Forgiveness or the Total and Permanent Disability Discharge, the U.S. Secretary of Education has the authority to forgive student loans as authorized under the terms of these loan forgiveness programs.

Without authorization by Congress of a specific loan forgiveness program, the President does not have the authority to forgive student loan debt. As the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Whitman v. American Trucking Assns., Inc., (531 USC 457, 2001), Congress does not “hide elephants in mouseholes.”

In addition, the “this part” language refers to Part B of Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which applies only to loans made under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program.

There is similar language in Part E at 20 USC 1087hh for the Federal Perkins Loan program. There is no similar language for Part D for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program.

The "parallel terms clause" in the Higher Education Act of 1965 at 20 USC 1087e(a)(1) (also, 20 USC 1087a(b)(2)) requires Direct Loan program loans to have the same terms and conditions as FFEL program loans. But this does not apply to the waiver authority because waiver authority is not part of the terms and conditions of the loans. 

The federal government is trillions in debt

Military spending should be 1% of the GDP of the US

This is largely due to the military industrial complex, which neocons support.

No it’s not. Military spending is just a fraction of what is spent on entitlement programs. 

Estimated U.S. military spending for the fiscal year 2022 is $754 billion. 

Why should it be some arbitrary number you just made up? Shouldn’t it be whatever is necessary to keep us safe, whether that be 5% or .5%?

No it’s not. Military spending is just a fraction of what is spent on entitlement programs. 

Military spending by the NATO quotas are already an arbitrary proportion (2% of GDP).  A 1% military budget would be enough to keep us safe.

Could you kindly point out where I say that 2% for NATO is a good idea? I don't like the arbitrary amounts, but that is for preventing freeloading off of others' defense spending.

Now explain how 1% will keep us safe. What will we cut by going from $800 billion to $200 billion?

Are we going to lay off hundreds of thousands of trained soldiers?

Are we going to stop investing in military technology?

I thought you supported the 2% mark for NATO.  My bad.

This GDP increase can be obtained by letting any taxpayer into the country, thereby contributing to our GDP if the US government got out of the way and let people come here without government permits.

 Sic semper tyrannis.

They have degrees and no PTSD yet.  They can get civilian jobs with no problem.

Given that we have thousands of nukes, no country will invade us, so I think we can spend less on military technology and be safe from invaders.  We probably could spend nothing on the military except for nuke matience and no country would want to invade us because they would be worried about nuclear hellfire from our nukes.  We can make a deal with Russia that we get rid of 3/4 of our nukes if they get rid of 3/4 of their nukes.  This way, if nuclear war happens, it won't be as bad and both the US and Russia still have about 1500 nukes.  We also agree that if any more nukes get developed by either country, then the other country can develop 1 more nuke per nuke developed by the other country.  This, combined with the cost of dismantling and rebuilding nukes serves as an incentive for both countries to not produce any more nukes once 75% of their nukes get dismantled.