[charwalker]

Nowadays 'affording' a 'cheap' state school is guessing if you can walk away with 20-50k of debt vs 50-150k. My younger brother had solid scholarships and still walked out with 25k. I graduated in 3 years and luckily my parents covered the last tuition check and I still had 15k.

At this point I've paid my debts and still welcome relief for students who didn't have the same opportunities as me.

There is no 'cheap' 4 year school anymore. Costs can be mitigated by going to a Community College for an associates/first 2 years then bridge that into a 4 year program but if you want to go for research, engineering, or many other more dedicated programs then being at the 4 year school all 4 years leads to many more connections and opportunities that some feel are worth the cost.

Borrowing beyond ones means isn't always fully understood by a group of 17-18 year olds, especially those who may be first generation college students or from school districts that have spent 2+ decades now losing resources for educating students on college options in order to focus on the kids failing out. For example, many college apps I completed in 2011 needed a letter of rec from my counselor who I had talked to once as a sophomore but spent most of his time working with students on the edge of failing or dropping out. It's archaic just like how the US college system operates as a capitalists dream and not a public service.

In terms of fair, well policy hasn't been fair in a long time either. The 2017 tax bill raised my taxes and pushed a trillion plus surplus back to the wealthy - a much worse outcome for all then cancelling student debt without a deeper plan. It may not seem "fair" to you but that doesn't make it bad policy.

[horsawlarway]

Ignore fair - How does this debt forgiveness address any of the systemic issues you've pointed out?

Colleges will still be just as expensive. The next round of student signing up now still has all the same burdens and obligations, the same disadvantages understanding the borrowing they're doing.

Nothing is getting fixed. You're just handing a one-time stimulus to recent college grads. And don't take me wrong - I would also have preferred a stimulus for recent college grads instead of the insanity that was Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy. But that's like picking between two wormy apples.

I really don't want a payout for EITHER of those groups! - I want the systemic issues around pricing for education to be addressed.

So if "debt forgiveness" also includes plans for something like universal access to college, or a standardized loan process through the federal government, or (perhaps most useful of all) the simple ability to discharge education debt through bankruptcy.... then sign me up.

If it just means handing money to the children of already mostly well-off folks, as a one-time political courtship to win the next presidential election... Then count me out. I think it's a bad idea.