by Gelet Martínez Fragela
President Joe Biden announced plans on Wednesday to forgive $10,000 of student debt or up to $20,000 for those with Pell Grant for millions of Americans, with some projections estimating the government’s cost at about half a trillion dollars–but for Daniel Garza, president of the LIBRE Initiative, one of the nation’s largest Hispanic organizations, the move does not “address the root problem of rising college tuition prices.”
In fact, in a recent statement published by the LIBRE Initiative, the group said that, “many Latinos are not celebrating student loan forgiveness.”
While some forgiveness advocates say student loans contribute to racial and socioeconomic wealth gaps, actual loan volumes are concentrated more among highly educated borrowers and less among Blacks and Hispanics, according to a Brookings Institution analysis, which indicates non-Hispanic White households account for about 63% of student debt. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, non-Hispanic Whites account for 61.6% of the national population.
In fact, in a recent The Economist/YouGov poll 54% of Latinos said they have never had student loans while 33% said they have already paid them off compared to only 13% who said they still have student debt.
According to the Brookings Institute, “Hispanic or Latino households hold 6% of student debt” while the cost of Biden’s measure could cost as much as $2,000 per taxpayer, according to a projection from the National Taxpayers Union that is based on a Penn Wharton Budget Model that was released on Tuesday.
In another study conducted by Excelencia in Education, half of Latino borrowers would have their entire debt forgiven with Biden’s measure. For families earning less than $50,000 a year, this would end up costing $158 according to the calculations made by the National Taxpayers Union. The average cost per taxpayer making between $50,000 and $75,000 is $866.87, even if they did not go to college.
For Garza, “the government should not be in the business of shifting the financial burden of student loans to taxpayers and doing nothing to address the underlying problem of escalating college tuition prices.”
His concerns of “addressing the underlying problem” seems consistent with concerns in the Latino community, of whom 63% consider student debt to be either a “serious” or “very serious” problem, to a greater or lesser degree, according to the Economist/YouGov poll.
Approximately 35% of Latinos had defaulted on their student loans at least once in the past 12 years, compared to 20% of White students, according to Excelencia in Education.
Yet, despite the difficulties many Hispanics face, most Hispanic Americans do not support the federal government canceling $10,000 in federal student loan debt for borrowers who owe at least that much, according to a July poll conducted by the Economist/YouGov.
In fact, 47% of Hispanics oppose the cancellation of $10,000 in student loan debt, compared to 44% who support it and 9% who are still unsure.
Comparatively, support for loan forgiveness is lower among Hispanics than in the Black community where 68% shows support for canceling $10,000 in student debt. It is also lower than Democrats, of whom 70% said they support the measure.
“Instead of subsidizing student loans with taxpayer money, policymakers should systematically change the way students finance their postsecondary education,” Garza said in a statement.
Hispanic support for student debt forgiveness did increase, however, when it comes to families earning less than 100,000 a year, with 54% of Latinos supporting the measure, 27% disagreeing, and 20% still not sure if this is the solution. Yet 4% under Black support at 64% and Democrats (74%). Support is even lower among independents (33%) and Republicans (32%), according to the Economist/YouGov poll.
Still, $100,000 is lower than Biden’s current proposal, as in order to qualify for loan forgiveness, debtors must earn less than $125,000 or less than $250,000 for couples filing jointly.
On the other hand, support for federal student loan forgiveness among the Latino community does increase when it comes to people who have already made payments for 10 years and who work in schools, government and non-profit organizations.
In these cases, 57% of Hispanics surveyed agreed.
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Gelet Martínez Fragela contributes to ADN America.
Photo “Daniel Garza” by The LIBRE Initiative. Background Photo “Latin People” by Askar Abayev.
