Trump has a golden opportunity to smash the student loan trap



Student loans are back in the headlines as the Trump administration moves to resume collections on delinquent federal student debt.

The issue demands serious scrutiny. Borrowers should honor their obligations. Yet the federal government has become the world’s largest predatory lender, handing tens of thousands of dollars in debt to teenagers who often lack the financial literacy to understand what they are signing. No underwriting process checks their ability to repay. Unlike most other loans, student debt cannot be discharged through bankruptcy.

The Trump administration should shift its collection stance and seize the opportunity to reform the broken student lending system.

This corrupt setup has enriched colleges, universities, and their administrators while leaving young people burdened with worthless degrees and mountains of debt.

With an entire generation saddled by debt and losing faith in the American dream, the Trump administration should lead a bold reform effort to fix student lending.

A five-step plan

First, Trump should work with Congress to get the federal government out of the student loan business entirely. The government is not a bank. Borrowing money at the federal level only to shovel it out to unqualified borrowers is reckless and unsustainable.

Next, the administration should pressure universities — particularly nonprofits with massive endowments. To maintain their tax-exempt status, these institutions must justify the return on investment for their degrees, hold a stake in the loans, and offer refunds for programs that fail to deliver promised outcomes.

If a student pursues a degree leading to a $50,000 salary, a college should warn them that taking on $200,000 in debt will never produce a worthwhile return. Aligning financial incentives would push schools to prioritize real-world job skills over administrative bloat and ideological indoctrination.

Student loans should also undergo an underwriting process based on both the student’s academic aptitude and the projected market value of the degree they are pursuing. Loans for high-value degrees should be higher than those for low-value ones, forcing colleges to stay competitive. Loans should also be restricted from funding noneducational expenses like spring break trips.

Additionally, student loans should become dischargeable through bankruptcy, just like other forms of personal debt. Colleges that hold a portion of the loan would then share the risk, giving them a stake in student success.

Finally, outstanding student loans must be restructured. Interest payments already made should be applied toward the principal, and students should have the right to seek recourse against universities that saddled them with overpriced, low-value degrees.

Trump’s big opportunity

The Trump administration has already welcomed many young Americans into the center-right coalition. Tackling the real crisis of college debt — an industry siphoning wealth from the next generation while pretending to offer economic opportunity — would show young voters that conservatives stand for their future.

Fixing student lending is not only good politics; it is the right thing to do to preserve the American dream for everyone.

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Trump admin ends Biden's free ride: 5+ million deadbeat student loan borrowers to face collections



President Donald Trump's Department of Education announced Monday that it will soon end the former Biden administration's free ride for student loan borrowers in default.

The ED's Office of Federal Student Aid will restart collections on May 5 for more than five million borrowers who have not made a payment for at least 360 days. Another four million borrowers — not yet considered to be in default — have not paid in 91 to 180 days.

"As a result, there could be almost 10 million borrowers in default in a few months. When this happens, almost 25 percent of the federal student loan portfolio will be in default," read a press release from the ED.

'The Biden Administration misled borrowers: the executive branch does not have the constitutional authority to wipe debt away, nor do the loan balances simply disappear.'

According to the department, 42.7 million student loan borrowers owe over $1.6 trillion. It noted that most borrowers are either delinquent or in an interest-free forbearance or deferment period.

"Only 38 percent of borrowers are in repayment and current on their student loans," it said. "Resuming collections protects taxpayers from shouldering the cost of federal student loans that borrowers willingly undertook to finance their postsecondary education."

The department has not collected on its defaulted student loans since March 2020, despite Congress mandating repayment in October 2023.

Trump's ED slammed the former administration for its refusal to lift the pause on collections, which "kept borrowers in a confusing limbo."

It further noted that under former President Joe Biden, the ED "failed to process applications for borrowers who applied for income-driven repayment and continued to push misguided 'on-ramps' and illegal loan forgiveness schemes to win points with borrowers and mask rising delinquency and default rates."

Over the next couple of weeks, the FSA will notify those currently in default about the payment restart. It will begin sending notifications of wage garnishments "later this summer," the department stated.

ED Secretary Linda McMahon said, "American taxpayers will no longer be forced to serve as collateral for irresponsible student loan policies."

"The Biden Administration misled borrowers: the executive branch does not have the constitutional authority to wipe debt away, nor do the loan balances simply disappear," she continued. "Hundreds of billions have already been transferred to taxpayers. Going forward, the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Treasury, will shepherd the student loan program responsibly and according to the law, which means helping borrowers return to repayment—both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation's economic outlook."

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Biden's $500 million student loan giveaway collapses under court's ruling



The United States Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday to put an end to the Biden administration's student loan giveaway plan that was estimated to cost taxpayers up to $500 million.

The lawsuit was originally filed by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R), and several other states — Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Dakota, Ohio, and Oklahoma — joined the legal action.

'This precedent is imperative.'

After the Supreme Court struck down a sweeping plan to wipe out federal student loan debt, former President Joe Biden refused to take no for an answer. Instead, he responded to the ruling by rolling out many smaller but similar plans that promised to bring relief to borrowers by passing along the cost to taxpayers.

Last year, Biden's White House announced that it planned to launch another round of loan "forgiveness" initiatives through its payment programs, including Saving on a Valuable Education, an income-driven repayment plan.

"Already 8 million borrowers are enrolled in SAVE, 4.5 million of those borrowers have a monthly payment of $0, and over 1 million additional borrowers have a monthly payment of less than $100," the administration stated at the time.

Critics accused Biden of ignoring and even attempting to circumvent the Supreme Court's ruling.

The seven states, led by Bailey, sued the administration, arguing that canceling federal student loan debt would exceed the "statutory authority given to the Secretary of Education."

On Tuesday, the circuit court sided with the states, agreeing to block the Biden administration's plan to cancel debt.

The court ruling read, "We conclude the states are likely to succeed in their claim that the Secretary's authority to promulgate ICR [Income-Contingent Repayment] plans does not authorize loan forgiveness at the end of the payment period."

"The Secretary has gone well beyond this authority by designing a plan where loans are largely forgiven rather than repaid," it added.

Bailey responded to the court's decision, stating, "Though Joe Biden is out of office, this precedent is imperative to ensuring a President cannot force working Americans to foot the bill for someone else's Ivy League debt."

The case will be returned to a lower court, which will determine whether the SAVE repayment plan is lawful.

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Cut the Zoomers some slack



Every generation loves to give the next one a hard time. Socrates famously called youth lazy, disrespectful, and decadent, starting a tradition that continues today. Although these criticisms sometimes hold truth, elders rarely acknowledge their own role in fostering the conditions that led to spiritual and cultural decline.

Generation Z — or Zoomers — may seem alien to older generations, but they face unique challenges their elders can barely imagine, let alone solve. Issues of identity, spirituality, family, and economics have shifted beneath the feet of this younger cohort. Rather than disparage Zoomers, the right should offer them leadership and solutions.

Conservatives should offer the young a future worth embracing instead of ridicule for the world they inherited.

I am not a Zoomer. I was born only a few years into the Millennial generation, while Gen Z ranges from ages 13 to 28. Many of the problems Zoomers face originated long before they were born.

When young people complain about job prospects and financial stability, the standard response is to work harder and “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” On an individual level, this advice is sound. No matter how dire one’s circumstances, effort and attitude remain personal choices. At a societal level, however, this stance can be disastrous. As a nation, we have a responsibility to foster an environment where young people can succeed, start families, and invest in a brighter future for their own children.

When Baby Boomers came of age, America was flush with opportunity. Most jobs did not require a college degree, and a store manager could afford a home and support a family on one salary. Grandparents still tell stories of paying for college by working part-time and picking up extra shifts in the summer. Starter homes existed in decent neighborhoods and often cost less than one year’s tuition at many modern universities. Most important, the majority of children came from intact families that modeled stability, and parents felt an obligation to pass wealth and opportunity down to their children.

At 14, I rode my bicycle to work my first job at a Subway in the neighborhood. I believe holding a menial job as a teenager is a critical rite of passage, teaching humility and an ability to connect with average people. However, most employees were high school kids, and every manager or assistant manager was an adult with little ambition. No one there was paying for college, let alone buying a home or supporting a family, just by making sandwiches.

Today, many entry-level positions that would have offered much-needed job experience go to undocumented immigrants willing to work for less without the same labor restrictions. Meanwhile, Zoomers hear that college is the gateway to a middle-class life, but many white males quickly learn they do not meet diversity requirements. Those who make it into university pay tuition that can exceed the down payment on a home, only to land an accounting job their parents once secured through an apprenticeship.

After graduation, many discover that jobs not yet shipped overseas are granted to foreign labor brought in on H-1B visas. The path to financial security that their parents once took seems increasingly out of reach.

For Zoomers, dating and marriage seem bleak. They often come from broken homes, with few positive examples of healthy relationships. Churches — once crucial for moral guidance, meeting potential spouses, and helping couples through marital struggles — have been abandoned. Instead, young people turn to dating apps they find degrading, with low chances of success. Young women, burdened by college debt taken on to secure a job, hesitate to start families because they cannot rely on a husband’s income alone.

The American dream once revolved around becoming middle class. Rather than attaining a certain salary, middle-class status represented independence. Wage workers depended on employers for daily survival. Typically renters, they had little security and lived paycheck to paycheck. Aspiring to join the middle class meant freeing yourself and your children from dependence on the system.

A middle-class family owned its own home, its own car, and often a small business. The capital they accrued allowed for investing, saving for retirement, and creating new opportunities for their children. Civic organizations, fraternities, guilds, clubs, and churches formed a network of social institutions that kept government small while communities prospered. This leisure time and extra capital among the middle class fostered institutions that freed generations of Americans from depending on corporations or government.

Today, the American middle class has been proletarianized. Mortgages have stretched from 15 to 30 years, and that’s for those lucky enough to buy a home in a market where costs keep climbing. Car loans have lengthened as well, with many consumers opting to lease rather than own. Health care, education, housing, and food have all experienced runaway inflation, while wages have failed to keep pace. Even two college-educated parents often need long hours at jobs that compete with foreign labor just to afford a home and raise a child or two. Those children, in turn, are often cared for by strangers and educated by the state. For most workers, “middle class” now means affording both Netflix and Hulu, not a path to prosperity and independence.

Zoomers are not inherently entitled or lazy. They were born into a culture that gutted many key social institutions to boost abstract measures like GDP. Earlier generations forgot that economic growth should improve people’s lives, not just inflate earnings reports. Destroying faith, family, and community for profit invites cynicism among young people who see fewer pathways to success.

This does not excuse Zoomers from personal responsibility, but conservatives should encourage them rather than mock them. Opportunities remain, yet both illegal and legal immigration must be curtailed so American citizens can access those jobs. The college monopoly on credentials must end, and DEI mandates in schools and workplaces should be punished under the strictest legal standards. Conservatives who claim to uphold “family values” need to help rebuild the local institutions that enable families to thrive and mentor the next generation of leaders. They should offer the young a future worth embracing instead of ridicule for the world they inherited.

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Biden's student loan repayment plan dealt another blow by federal court



Joe Biden's attempts to fulfill a major campaign promise to relieve student loan debt took another hit this week when a federal appeals court blocked the Saving on a Valuable Education program, better known as SAVE.

On a one-page, unsigned order issued on Thursday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the request of six Republican-led states, including Missouri, to suspend implementation of aspects of the SAVE program while the court considers a more permanent block favored by Republicans. A district judge had already blocked implementation of the other parts of the SAVE program in a ruling last month.

Supporters of SAVE, on the other hand, waxed histrionic that the order blocking the implementation of SAVE would upend people's lives, even though the program began offering debt relief only a few months ago.

Andrew Bailey, the Republican attorney general of Missouri who filed the emergency motion on behalf of the plaintiffs, celebrated the order as a "HUGE win" for everyday Americans. Bailey called SAVE "illegal" and claimed it was a backdoor means of saddling taxpayers — many of whom never went to college — "with half-a-trillion dollars in Ivy League debt."

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"I'm proud to lead from the frontlines on this. In Missouri, we believe in paying our debts and not burdening hardworking taxpayers. Today’s victory is a win for every hardworking American who pays their bills without leaning on their neighbors," Bailey added in a separate statement.

Supporters of SAVE, on the other hand, waxed histrionic that the order blocking the implementation of SAVE would upend people's lives, even though the program began offering debt relief only a few months ago.

"Today’s ruling from the 8th Circuit blocking President Biden’s SAVE plan could have devastating consequences for millions of student loan borrowers crushed by unaffordable monthly payments if it remains in effect," said a statement from Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

"This decision threatens the entire federal student loan system and will cause complete chaos and confusion," added a statement from Eileen Connor, president and executive director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending.

The Biden administration has tried to ease or outright cancel student loan debt for years after campaigning heavily on the issue in 2020. However, time after time, the courts have overruled many of those efforts. In June 2023, the Supreme Court struck down Biden's attempts to cancel up to $20,000 in loans for qualified borrowers.

SAVE was yet another means of trying to achieve a similar end. To date, more than 8 million people have enrolled in SAVE, and over 400,000 of them who had taken out no more than $12,000 originally had their entire debt eliminated. The appellate court order will not affect any debt cancellation that has already been given through the SAVE program.

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Biden Forgives Another $7.7 Billion In Americans’ Student Loan Debt

'Get the relief they are entitled to under the law'