President-elect Joe Biden has affirmed his support for the “immediate” cancellation of certain student debts.

Cancellation of student debt was a major campaign plank of some of his most progressive rivals for the Democratic nomination, but it remains controversial even among some Democrats.

In response to a question at a Monday press conference, Biden reiterated his support for a provision passed as part of the HEROES Act, which the Democratic-controlled House update October 1. The provision asks the federal government to repay up to $10,000 in private, non-federal student loans for “economically distressed” borrowers. Biden specifically pointed to “people … having to make choices between paying their student loan and paying rent,” and said debt relief “should be done immediately.”

Senate Democrats are pushing for much more debt relief. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer co-wrote a resolution in September with Senator Elizabeth Warren calling on the next president to forgive up to $50,000 in outstanding federal student loans per borrower. According to data from the College Board, this would amount to wiping out all debt for more than three-quarters of borrowers.

Senators cited an opinion lawyers from a Harvard legal clinic who argue that the power to forgive federal student loan debt rests with the president and his secretary of education, since it is the Department of Education that is in charge origin of these loans. This means it can be done regardless of who controls the Senate without passing new laws.

This can be done – but should it be done? Some economists support canceling student debt will stimulate the economyfreeing up young people to start businesses, buy houses and even raise families.

Warren, in his presidential campaign proposal, cited arguments that debt cancellation would narrow the racial wealth gap, reverse the rural brain drain and allow more people to complete their education. Activist groups like the Collective debt go further, arguing that student debt is wrong in principle. “We must restore education to the status of a public good,” the organization says on its website.

Critics point out that people with college degrees generally make more money than those without. They say that the cancellation of student debt is, in this sense, regressive, because it is a form of economic aid intended for people who are already advantaged. Some commentators also see a partisan drive towards debt cancellation. This is because white voters without a college degree are much more likely to vote Republican. And then there is the moral hazard argument – that debt cancellation would cause people to take out more student loans and act irresponsibly in the future.

Tying debt cancellation to the COVID-19 emergency and targeting those in economic difficulty, as Biden demands, could reduce that kind of criticism.

And Biden paired his endorsement of debt forgiveness with the idea of ​​lowering the cost of college through increased federal aid in the future, “everything from community college to doubling Pell grants, to by ensuring that we have access to free education for everyone. [from households] earn less than $125,000 for four years of college,” he said.

His wife, Jill Biden, a community college professor, echoed the call for free community college in a remote speech, she spoke on Monday to a group called College Promise, of which she is the past honorary president. College Promise supports and advocates for a network of 360 local free college programs across the country, which operate with a mix of public and philanthropic support.

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