What can we expect from President Trump on student loans?
John Peardon, Staff Writer
Graphic courtesy of Kaleb Collum
As President Donald Trump begins his second month in office, many graduating college students are starting to ask the question: how will his administration handle student loan policy?
While the administration has not made an official policy announcement on loan forgiveness, President Trump gave some indicators during the presidential campaign as to how he plans to approach the issue.
According to Ben Geier from Business Insider, “In October 2016, Trump proposed a plan that would cap the total repayment for federal student loan holders to around 12.5 percent of the borrower’s income for 15 years after graduation,” wrote Geier. “After that the loan would be forgiven.”
Geier later quoted a Trump interview, where he said, “‘Students should not be asked to pay more on the debt than they can afford . . . and the debt should not be an albatross around their necks for the rest of their lives,’” said Trump.
Will Burroughs, a senior accounting major at North Greenville University, says he knows what it is like to feel the burden of student loans, and he likes parts of Trump’s plan. “What I like about Trump’s plan is taking 12.5 percent of your income is not as crippling as some of the repayment plans,” said Burroughs.
“It’s definitely better than a complete forgiveness plan because the government would be giving out all of this money that they need to repay, and then it will be added to the national debt,” said Burroughs.
If the administration follows through with the campaign promise, it will certainly be a change from the current system. For example, “Currently, college graduates who go into a public service field – including some doctors and lawyers – may be able to receive loan forgiveness,” wrote Geier. “That system could be redefined or even completely cancelled under the Trump administration,” he said
Geier concludes his thoughts by mentioning how many far-right conservatives don’t find the plan to be conservative enough, but far-left liberals don’t find the plan to be forgiving enough.
