Biden likely does not have the authority to forgive debt (which is tantamount to authorizing spending). Delay, change the terms of loan arrangements? Yes. But to entirely forgive a debt is something that only Congress can do. Pelosi is on record saying just this, and I can imagine litigation will be a problem.' I can't predict litigation, but what a mess if an injunction is issued.
If you forgive debt, you must have a basis to do it. If the loans are legally unconscionable, a difficult argument given many have paid and are paying the loans, then fix that problem. $10,000 does not fix the problem, and it only encourages the academic industrial class to raise prices even more (note they vote in one direction, and could care less about the middle class). Academics have raised prices 3 and one half times inflation in the last 25 years. And the product is largely the same.
How can you forgive debt (which again must in theory be defective in its making) but keep on making loans on the same basis? Where is the structural change? We intend to forgive every year on a piecemeal political basis? Debt has been forgiven on loans made to those who went to for profit schools found to have engaged in fraud. Accordingly those debts have been deemed unenforceable to collect. What is the rational here? No change in the accrual of interest policies? No caps on loan amounts? No change to Parent Plus loans which are a real inhibitor for many in retirement? No change to bankruptcy laws (no dischargeability a feature sponsored by Biden). Congress should step in and do their job. If relief is warranted, how can we just keep on doing what we are doing?
Even with the income caps proposed, the cancellation of $10,000 would give 73% of the benefits to the top 60% of income earners. It makes it hard to argue this is nothing more than a political sop.
It is hard to be comfortable with a wealth transfer to the college educated from working class people who chose not to go to college. I can't stand Trump, but not hard to see why his populism attracts people. It is these kind of actions that cause every day working people to lose trust.