Biden said the administration’s “targeted actions are for families who need it most: the working and middle class are being hit especially hard during the pandemic, making less than $125,000 a year.” He pointed out that “about 90% of eligible beneficiaries make less than $75,000.” But the nation is divided over Biden’s decision, flooding social media channels with praise or criticism. Many see the executive order as a game changer for millions of Americans drowning in debt, while others say it’s unfair to those who have made sacrifices and worked hard to pay off their college debt.
Here’s what some Americans have to say about Biden’s plan.

Pamela Bone

Pamela Bone is a 59-year-old resident of Atlanta, Georgia. Her youngest daughter has cerebral palsy, which inspired her to become a teacher for high school students who have moderate mental retardation.
Bone said she and her family moved from Seattle after her daughter was born, and she briefly stayed home to be there for several surgeries and doctor appointments. She also volunteered at her daughter’s school and said she was “amazed by the time, care, attention and love her teachers gave,” prompting her to return to school to earn her master’s and B.S. specialty.
“I wanted to give back to the students what my daughter had received from loved ones, and I just knew that this would be my true calling in life,” Bone said. “Needless to say, the cost to get the necessary credentials was a high cost but also a necessary one as I was now divorced and had to support myself and my daughter.”
Even though teachers are poorly paid, Bone said, her profession is “near and dear” to her heart. “Clearing this debt means I can put more aside for my daughter’s future, to ensure a comfortable and meaningful life for both of us and something I am truly grateful to receive,” she said.

Jo Ann Hardy

Jo Ann Hardy, a 66-year-old from Detroit, Michigan, says her family is middle-class African-American. She and her husband, Jerry, paid for her daughter to get her master’s degree in 2004. The three of them made sacrifices and worked hard to pay for her daughter to go to college with the help of a few academic scholarships, she says. “We did it! No loans! Even though we didn’t need loan relief, we’re happy that President Biden announced a plan to help provide some relief to students who had to take out loans,” Hardy said. “We are smart and compassionate enough to know that not all students and families can make it without help!” The Hardys fully support the effort to alleviate some of the student loan debt for borrowers. They said they have met students and families over the years who “have given their all and continue to make significant contributions as professionals in our communities and across the US.” “For those who could do without student loans — BRAVO! For those who needed loan help — BRAVO!” said Hardy.

Brian Lonsbury

Bryan Lonsberry, 34, lives in Scottsburg, Indiana. Lonsberry says he and his wife held jobs throughout college and made sacrifices early after college to pay off their loans. “Now these forgiven loans are a slap in the face for us. We did the right thing and fulfilled our obligation that we signed up for,” he said. “This policy, no matter which side of the island you’re on, sends the wrong message. This time it’s 10k, but next time people always want more. It’s not sustainable.” Lonsberry says he supports getting a higher education, but believes each person is responsible for paying for it.
“At the end of the day, nobody seems to want to take responsibility for their actions. People need to step up and be responsible for themselves and their decisions, but it seems now everyone just wants a handout,” he said.

Elijah Watkins

Elijah Watkins, 28, is from Atlanta, Georgia. Watkins says Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan means he can move out of his mother’s house. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Watkins says he has lived in a difficult environment that has forced him to choose between paying rent or paying off student loans. Choose the second one. “This means I can start taking bigger steps as I get older for bigger purchases like buying my first home, getting a new car or going back into my own business,” Watkins said.
“Other than Obamacare, this is the first time a President has directly influenced my day-to-day decision making that makes me proud to be a citizen of the United States of America,” he said.

Brian Garden

Brian Garden is a 30-year-old resident of Jacksonville, Florida. Garten was a Pell Grant borrower, as well as a few small grants, and worked several jobs through college. He had to take out $26,000 in student loans on top of his federal student loans, he says, and enrolled in the income-based repayment plan, never missing a payment for seven years.
Garden still has $21,000 in loans to pay off, which he says would have taken him at least 20 years.
“It has kept me from major life milestones so far,” he said. “I couldn’t even entertain the idea of ​​saving up for a down payment on a house and there’s no way I could afford to have a family.”
Garden says his student loans are affecting every aspect of his life, and Biden’s forgiveness plan “will change everything for me.”
He expects to receive the full $20,000 in forgiveness and pay off the rest to be completely debt free of college loans.
“I plan to buy a new car, with warranties and a reliability guarantee for the foreseeable future,” he said. “It will be my biggest purchase ever and something I feel is an important investment in my future. This student loan forgiveness gives me hope to move forward in my life where I had none before.”

John Visser

John Visser, 56, lives in Dallas, Texas.
Visser, who describes himself as a progressive Democrat, is against Biden’s decision. He said he did not agree with “handouts for people with financial difficulties”.
“If they couldn’t pay it back, why did they borrow it in the first place?” he said. Visser said his wife died 12 years ago, leaving him with a single-income household and bills he couldn’t handle on his own.
“I made some tough choices, put myself on a strict budget and paid off the debt as quickly as possible. Why shouldn’t a similar plan be the same for student loan borrowers? If they went to college, they should be able to manage their finances,” he said. Visser joined the United States Army in the late 1980s to earn the Army College Fund, an enlistment incentive option and GI Bill benefits that help with the cost of school or education for eligible veterans. The benefits he earned helped pay for his college while working full time, Visser says. “It seems rather unfair to now be paying part of my taxes for those who took an easier path to their degrees without any contribution back to society,” he said.

Rachel Clarke

Rachel Clark, 31, lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark was the first person in her family to earn a four-year college degree. He grew up in and out of poverty, and the idea of ​​moving to college was terrifying. Her mother was not informed about the financial aid process, and the idea of ​​her eldest daughter leaving home “terrified” her, Clark said.
Clark completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) only to discover she had zero expected family contributions, she says. During her first year of college, Clark took out both subsidized and unsubsidized loans to pay for the rest of the university’s tuition and fees, such as books, supplies, and housing costs. She worked a full-time job during her college career to support herself, but it sometimes caused her grades to suffer. Clark says it was a miracle she was able to graduate with a 3.4 GPA. “I entered the field of early childhood education almost immediately and found that my hopeful aspirations for my future career were just as dismal as my ideas about college,” she said.
Clark earned about $20 an hour as an educator for nearly a decade and paid off her loans in payments of less than $100 a month as part of her income-driven repayment plan. “For once, I did the math — it’s very likely that I will DIE before I pay off my student loans. With the weight of my student loans off my shoulders, I can finally breathe,” she said. Clark added that she feels “so free, knowing that student debt is one less burden I’ll have to keep drowning under.”