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“Well, if you really knew me, you'd say crushing debt.” - Jake Peralta and American students everywhere
Just when we thought that we wouldn’t have to suffer (as much) under the weight of crushing student loan debt, the Supreme Court has pulled a reverse Uno. President Biden’s student debt relief plan sought to forgive up to $20,000 in loans for low-income borrowers, an absolute game-changer for people who struggle to afford rent and groceries on top of student loans. Or at least, it would have been if the Supreme Court didn’t strike down the plan and shackle borrowers to their student loans — like a Princess Leia and Jabba the Hutt situation.
Unsurprisingly, Data for Progress and the Student Borrower Protection Center find the Supreme Court’s decision isn’t a popular one. Sixty-one percent of voters support Biden’s student debt relief plan, including a majority of Democrats and Independents, as well as Republicans under 45. Not everyone has Republican billionaires making our tuition payments, Clarence — some of us have to take out thousands of dollars in loans before we even start our first big kid job.
Don’t fret just yet though! President Biden is a man with a plan and that plan is the Higher Education Act of 1965, which allows the Secretary of Education to “compromise, waive, or release” loans held by the federal government. Data for Progress and the Student Borrower Protection Center find that a majority of likely voters (54 percent) support using the Higher Education Act to forgive loans, including majorities of Democrats and Independents, and half of Republicans under 45.
Even though conservatives on the Supreme Court told low-income borrowers to F off, and the New York Times literally suggested dying as one of six ways to still cancel your debt, all hope is not lost. One day, you might be able to get rid of that loan payment and afford rent — the American dream!
Check out the polling here.
Here are some other highlights from DFP this week:
Summer 2023 – In: discrimination, Out: gay wedding websites
Move over protected classes, because SCOTUS decided that Pride month is officially over and it’s the summer of discrimination! Although Colorado has a law banning businesses from refusing service to customers based on their race, gender, or sexual orientation, a Christian website designer said nuh uh, I have the right to turn hypothetical gays away. The case made its way up to the Supreme Court, and what did the conservative majority decide? You guessed it!! It’s her First Amendment right and her religious freedom to refuse service to LGBTQ+ couples for their weddings. It’s giving theocracy.
The ruling sets a dangerous precedent, allowing business owners who say their services are “expressive” to turn away customers who are members of a protected class. It’s been a hot second since we took APUSH, but haven’t we already had multiple instances in this country where we discriminated against a group of people and then decided that was Mean (Taylor’s Version). When are we ever going to learn?? Data for Progress finds 65 percent of voters believe businesses should not be allowed to refuse service to customers based on their personal beliefs. This includes 84 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of Independents, and 48 percent of Republicans.
In fact, Data for Progress finds 64 percent of voters prioritize the right of individuals to be served by businesses, regardless of their race, religion, disability, or sexual orientation, over the right of business owners to refuse service based on their conscience or religious beliefs (30 percent). So, sorry to homophobic website designers everywhere, but if your faith is really threatened by getting on SquareSpace and making a registry page with like 16 different Le Creuset pans, the public thinks you may need to re-evaluate.
This decision is going to have repercussions for years to come, and clearly, it goes against public opinion (and basic human decency). While we don’t know who brought the cocaine into the White House, based on the recent Supreme Court decisions, can we really blame them?
Check out the polling here.
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