- A GoBankingRates survey found 52% of Americans support blanket student loan forgiveness.
- It also found 20% of respondents think the government should stay out of debt cancellation.
- Democrats are keeping the pressure on Biden to cancel $50,000 in student debt per person.
Democratic lawmakers are keeping the pressure on President Joe Biden to cancel $50,000 in student debt per borrower. While he has not yet done so, the majority of Americans support an even bigger debt wipeout.
A survey released last week from GoBankingRates - a personal finance portal - found that of the 3,600 Americans surveyed, 52% support blanket student-loan forgiveness, meaning loan forgiveness for everyone with student-loan debt. Meanwhile, 12% of respondents supported loan forgiveness for those with low income and high debt, 11% supported forgiveness for those in public service, and 4% supported temporary loan forgiveness through the pandemic.
The survey collected responses from April 16 to May 18 and asked respondents which approach to student loan forgiveness they think the US should adopt.
The survey's findings align with a study by The Harris Poll in January that found 55% of Americans support forgiveness of all student debt.
The responses from the older Americans are "particularly interesting," as the survey noted, given that student-loan forgiveness would significantly benefit older Americans. According to an estimate from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) released in March, 8.4 million borrowers ages 50 and older hold 22%, or $336.1 billion, of the total federal debt load, with what could be as much as 10% interest charged annually adding to the growing pile.
Insider reported last month that many older Americans fear they will die with their student debt.
"I feel like I've actually been responsible, and I've paid a considerable amount of money on my student loans," David Wise, 59, told Insider. "But it really is a debtor's prison."
Student loan payments have been on pause for the duration of the pandemic, and while they are set to resume in October, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has hinted at the possibility of extending the pause even further.
And during the pause, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have been calling on Biden to cancel $50,000 in student debt per borrower to provide immediate aid once the pause lifts, and a recent study from the left-leaning Roosevelt Institute found the lawmakers' plan would help low-income borrowers the most.
Biden has yet to comment on whether he will act on the blanket student-loan forgiveness that the majority of Americans want. He so far has cancelled student debt for some borrowers with disabilities and defrauded borrowers, and he has asked the Education and Justice Departments to review his ability to use executive action to cancel $50,000 in student debt.
According to Schumer, Biden wants Democrats to keep the pressure on to forgive student debt.
"We said, 'We're going to keep at it until you do this,' and to his [Biden's] credit, he said, 'Go ahead.' He's talked about 10 thousand - that's not enough," Schumer said during a student debt forgiveness town hall. "We're keeping the pressure on him."
[Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify that the GoBankingRates survey was not a poll, as the initial headline indicated, and to relate the findings to a Harris Poll study in January.]
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