As Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia continues to foil legislative progress, the White House should start looking for every possible action President Joe Biden can take unilaterally to shore up the Democratic base for 2022. Here's one no-brainer: cancel at least $50,000 in student loan debt and turn a bunch of first-time Democratic voters into Democrats for life.
One of the reasons Manchin's latest rejection of voting rights legislation was such a gut punch is that it dealt a blow to a critical part of Biden's agenda on promoting racial justice and equity. But as many student debt activists have pointed out, canceling student debt is a crucial part of enhancing racial equity, since student debt disproportionately burdens people of color.
In fact, last week as the White House touted its efforts in the American Rescue Plan to close the nation's yawning racial wealth gap, the leader of the NAACP countered by pointing straight back to student loan debt.
“Components of the plan are encouraging, but it fails to address the student loan debt crisis that disproportionately affects African Americans,” Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, said in a statement on Biden’s latest announcements. “You cannot begin to address the racial wealth gap without addressing the student loan debt crisis.”
In other words, student loan debt isn't a peripheral consideration for people of color. It's essential.
That reality was reflected in Civiqs polling on the topic earlier this year. The survey found that 58% of voters age 18 to 34 support the Biden administration canceling $50,000 in federal student loan debt. But the policy was even more popular among young voters of color, garnering the support of 83% of Black youth voters and 69% of Latino youth voters. There's good reason for heightened support among young voters of color. As a report last year by the Student Borrower Protection Center found, racial disparities in the effects of student debt perpetuate a "vicious cycle of racial and economic inequality."
And by the way, young voters turned out in historic numbers last November, with young voters of color in particular providing a critical boost to the Biden-Harris ticket in key battleground states.
This should be so simple: It's good for the economy, it's good for the base, and it's good for racial equity. Failing to cancel at least $50,000 in student debt would be political malpractice, particularly when the rest of Biden's agenda is in peril.
One of the reasons Manchin's latest rejection of voting rights legislation was such a gut punch is that it dealt a blow to a critical part of Biden's agenda on promoting racial justice and equity. But as many student debt activists have pointed out, canceling student debt is a crucial part of enhancing racial equity, since student debt disproportionately burdens people of color.
In fact, last week as the White House touted its efforts in the American Rescue Plan to close the nation's yawning racial wealth gap, the leader of the NAACP countered by pointing straight back to student loan debt.
“Components of the plan are encouraging, but it fails to address the student loan debt crisis that disproportionately affects African Americans,” Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, said in a statement on Biden’s latest announcements. “You cannot begin to address the racial wealth gap without addressing the student loan debt crisis.”
In other words, student loan debt isn't a peripheral consideration for people of color. It's essential.
That reality was reflected in Civiqs polling on the topic earlier this year. The survey found that 58% of voters age 18 to 34 support the Biden administration canceling $50,000 in federal student loan debt. But the policy was even more popular among young voters of color, garnering the support of 83% of Black youth voters and 69% of Latino youth voters. There's good reason for heightened support among young voters of color. As a report last year by the Student Borrower Protection Center found, racial disparities in the effects of student debt perpetuate a "vicious cycle of racial and economic inequality."
And by the way, young voters turned out in historic numbers last November, with young voters of color in particular providing a critical boost to the Biden-Harris ticket in key battleground states.
This should be so simple: It's good for the economy, it's good for the base, and it's good for racial equity. Failing to cancel at least $50,000 in student debt would be political malpractice, particularly when the rest of Biden's agenda is in peril.