The Cut - Dreaming of Student-Debt Relief

Behind the estimated more than $1.7 trillion in student-loan debt in the United States are many people who spent years making payments only to see the amount they owe appear to never budge — or actually increase. A payment and interest freeze on federal loans was extended repeatedly throughout the pandemic, and is set to end in June after more than three years, and the Supreme Court is preparing to hear cases that will decide whether some student-loan borrowers will have up to $20,000 in debt canceled. President Joe Biden’s debt-relief plan would eliminate $20,000 for borrowers who are Pell Grant recipients and $10,000 for other federal borrowers as long as they earn less than $125,000. But GOP lawmakers and conservative groups have sought to block the program from the jump, and on Tuesday, the Court will hear two conservative-backed lawsuits that have kept Biden’s plan on ice.

The Cut spoke to eight borrowers who carry varying amounts of student debt in varying circumstances — from withdrawing from college because of disability, to parenting while in school, to taking out Parent PLUS Loans for their children. They shared, in their own words, how the payment pause has affected them and the difference student-loan forgiveness would make in their lives.

What even is work-life balance? If your signature leaves something to be desired, you can just buy a better one. No to this kissing device. Just put real sugar in your coffee if you can’t take it unsweetened. A Florida appeals court denied an attorney’s attempt to have a woman released from jail ahead of trial by arguing that her fetus was being illegally detained without charge — but not for the right reasons. Put Donnie Yen in all the movies, Hollywood. What kind of heartless person would stand up Grandpa Joe?! The U.S. is closer than ever to an RSV vaccine. And Black teenage girls are the invisible tastemakers of our culture.

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