On Aug. 24, Biden announced via Twitter his plan for forgiving federal student loans, a campaign promise he made during the 2020 election.

According to the plan, up to $10,000 of your loans can be cancelled if you didn’t receive Pell Grants, and up to $20,000 if you did receive Pell. This only applies to those earning less than $125,000 income.

According to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz, at least 9 million borrowers could have their loans cleared by this plan.

The conversation around student loan forgiveness is a controversial one. Supporters say that forgiving student loans will ease burdens off millions of people, while opponents say that forgiving loans is unfair to those who have already paid theirs off, among other issues.

While we should consider the repercussions of this plan, we believe that the benefits may outweigh the negatives.

One benefit of forgiving student loans is that it could help stimulate the economy. Student debt is currently up to $1.8 billion, so if we can cancel even part of that, money could be used towards other economic relief.

Another benefit is that it will alleviate the burden on those who are having trouble repaying their loans. No matter how you feel about canceling student loans, we should be able to appreciate the fact that millions of people will have much less to worry about, even if it does not cancel all of their loans.

Additionally, it could help narrow the racial wealth gap. Students of color are disproportionately affected by student loans, according to the Roosevelt Institute. African American and Latinx could experience wealth gains and better financial security with this plan to forgive student loans.

We should note that while Biden is working to keep up with this campaign promise, this could ultimately be a ploy to help keep Democrats in office with the upcoming midterm elections, or even to benefit his own campaign in the future.

It’s no secret that Biden’s presidency so far has been met with mixed to unfavorable reviews, and if you’re into predicting elections, it is possible (maybe even likely) that Democrats will lose their majority in Congress. Biden’s plan for forgiving student loans could be a way to gain more support for Democrats in the upcoming election, but it’s just a possibility.

In the end, while Biden’s plan for student loan forgiveness may not be what most had in mind, it is an ambitious start.

In the future, we should look for ways to make higher education more affordable, so that we do not continue to accumulate trillions of dollars in student loans.

This editorial reflects the general opinion of The Spectator.