'ice water on a forest fire'
Biden's reported student debt forgiveness plan 'won't do anything,' NAACP says
President Biden is planning to cancel $10,000 in student debt per borrower, a new report says.
According to The Washington Post, Biden hoped to announce this student loan plan as soon as this weekend in a speech at the University of Delaware but delayed it due to the recent shooting in Texas. The plan reportedly involves limiting debt forgiveness to those who made less than $150,000 the previous year, or $300,000 for married couples.
Biden said last month he would make a decision on forgiving student loan debt in the next few weeks, though the White House told the Post a final decision still hasn't been made.
Reports of the plan, though, quickly generated pushback from those who argued Biden wouldn't be going far enough. Marissa Higgins, a writer at Daily Kos, tweeted that after "ALL of this organizing and so many appeals from marginalized people," forgiving $10,000 for those who make under $150,000 a year will "not get people to the polls or more importantly, help them."
NAACP President Derrick Johnson also slammed the reported plan, saying canceling $10,000 in student debt would be "like pouring a bucket of ice water on a forest fire. In other words, it won't do anything, especially for the Black community." The group also said "$10,000 in cancelation would be a slap in the face," calling on Biden to instead cancel "all of it."