Students, deeper in debt

President Biden’s efforts to lighten the student debt burden seem likely to be scrapped by the U.S. Supreme Court — another victim of political gridlock.

After last week’s oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, it appears more likely than not that the conservative majority will strike down President Joe Biden’s program to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt for individuals with annual incomes of $125,000 or less. The initiative is estimated to cost $400 billion over the course of 30 years — roughly $13 billion annually.

The one thread of hope for the 26 million Americans who applied for relief since the program was announced last summer is that a combination of the court’s liberal wing and two conservatives could conclude that the plaintiffs in the case, Republican state officials and two individuals, lack standing because they wouldn’t be harmed by its provisions. This is a viable argument, as the legal action seeking to knock down the debt relief plan seems to have been inspired by the fable of the dog in the manger, albeit by people who missed its lesson.

There is a more compelling case to be made that the administration’s gambit is yet another example of executive overreach, which this editorial board has opposed whether the effort is noble or as questionable as the construction of a wall along the southern border. In this instance, the Biden administration is citing a 2003 program, the HEROES Act, that empowers the secretary of education to amend the terms of federal student loans due to a national emergency. The program was initially intended to prevent members of the post-9/11 military from being unduly burdened by their service; the expansion of the program cites the economic damage to debtors inflicted by the COVID pandemic.

The student debt crisis, of course, was raging before COVID and appears likely to burn long after the health crisis recedes from the headlines. And as with so many societal problems, the root cause is partisan division and the utter failure of Congress to act to make higher education affordable.

While polling suggests public opinion is all over the place on student debt relief, most surveys show majority support for the forgiveness of a nominal sum (often pegged at $10,000), though it’s unlikely such a plan could find enough support from the Republican-controlled House. There is, however, overwhelming bipartisan support for reducing the cost of a college degree — that is, heading off the debt locomotive before it’s barreling toward the fiscal precipice.

Accomplishing this task won’t require a magic bullet, but rather a blueprint for holding lenders and schools more accountable for the debt load they can pile on, and providing borrowers with much more information about what they can realistically expect to earn by attaining a specific degree. And it requires the expansion of programs that incentivize student success leading to graduation, to prevent the double whammy of debt and no degree.

It’s generally agreed that the 1944 legislation popularly known as the G.I. Bill was one of the most successful pieces of public policy of the postwar era. It was predicated on the notion that when this nation invests in its citizens, it reaps a significant dividend. Whatever direction the Supreme Court takes, it’s time to revisit that promise for the modern era.