WASHINGTON, DC - FEB 16 Student debt borrowers demand President Biden cancel student loan debt during a demonstration outside The White House on February 16, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We The 45 Million
Ayelet Sheffey
Fri, March 4, 2022,
The Debt Collective is launching a student-debt strike when payments resume on May 1.
This doesn't mean defaulting on debt. The group offers five ways to get to $0 monthly payments.
They say it's all about pushing the envelope on student-debt cancellation.
The nation's first debtor's union has an option for 43 million federal student-loan borrowers facing payments in under two months: a student-debt strike.
On Friday, the Debt Collective launched an initiative to help borrowers get to $0 monthly payments when the payment pause expires on May 1. The organization made clear that this student debt strike is not encouraging people to default on their loans, which can result from missed payments and lead to severe financial consequences, but rather, the strike is centered on helping borrowers get to $0 monthly payments "as safely as possible."
"I want to emphasize that not everyone can strike, and that's okay," Braxton Brewington, spokesperson for the Debt Collective, told Insider. "A strike is people politicizing that they're unwilling and unable to pay, and it's really something that pushes the envelope and aids the conversation of student-debt cancellation."
Student-loan payments have been on pause since the start of the pandemic, but with Biden planning to restart those payments on May 1, many borrowers have worried about their ability to foot another monthly bill while COVID-19 is still ongoing. As the $1.7 trillion student debt crisis continues to grow, some Democratic lawmakers have been urging the president to fulfill his campaign pledge to cancel student debt broadly, but he has yet to do so and has been largely silent on when, or if, broad loan relief is coming.
That's why a strike is necessary, Brewington said. "It's a way to stick it to Joe Biden and say, 'If you're going to turn payments on, we're going to try to find as many people as we can who can pay $0 a month so they can enjoy their lives in the way that hopefully they are right now.'"
But, as he noted, "the best way to pay $0 a month is to have all your debt canceled."
How to become a student debt striker
According to the Debt Collective, a student debt striker is anyone who is paying $0 a month "for a combination of economic and political reasons — because they can't pay and know they shouldn't have to pay" and who is committed to fighting for broad student-loan relief.
If a borrower fits that mold, they can fill out the organization's form to indicate which of these five options would best help them reach $0 payments:
Applying for "borrower defense to repayment," a type of loan forgiveness granted to borrowers defrauded by for-profit schools
Applying for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which forgives student debt for public servants after ten years of qualifying payments
Using an income-driven repayment plan, which calculates monthly payments based on income, to help get monthly payments close to $0
Using the Education Department's safety net, which is a 90 day grace period that allows missed payments to go unreported on credit scores
Or staying in school, during which federal loans should be in an in-school deferment period.
Brewington also noted that borrowers currently in default are already on strike because they are unable to make payments on their debt.
Political momentum for student-debt cancellation continues to grow
Striking on student debt isn't about draining money from the Department of Education, Brewington said — it's an "overtly political" action.
As Insider has previously reported, left-leaning economists have said the economy has been doing just fine without student-loan payments made to the federal government during the pandemic. They say that will continue if the payment pause keeps getting extended, or if student debt is canceled altogether.
"In a student debt strike, the main target is the federal government," the Debt Collective said. "The federal government is a unique target because we don't actually hurt the government financially when we don't pay our federal student loans." That's because the government has already issued the debt and has continued to function without the payments.
While lawmakers advocating for broad student-loan relief, like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have not explicitly come out in support of a debt strike, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib has, signaling the potential for further lawmakers supporting $0 payments come May 1.
"The road to student debt cancellation is long and hard, and a key aspect is building solidarity amongst students and graduates with debt," Tlaib told the Debt Collective, adding "we need to resist and abolish student debt, and there are so many ways to support it without putting yourself in financial jeopardy. I stand with Student Debt Strikers and encourage everyone – whether you have debt or not – to join us."
Ayelet Sheffey
Fri, March 4, 2022,
The Debt Collective is launching a student-debt strike when payments resume on May 1.
This doesn't mean defaulting on debt. The group offers five ways to get to $0 monthly payments.
They say it's all about pushing the envelope on student-debt cancellation.
The nation's first debtor's union has an option for 43 million federal student-loan borrowers facing payments in under two months: a student-debt strike.
On Friday, the Debt Collective launched an initiative to help borrowers get to $0 monthly payments when the payment pause expires on May 1. The organization made clear that this student debt strike is not encouraging people to default on their loans, which can result from missed payments and lead to severe financial consequences, but rather, the strike is centered on helping borrowers get to $0 monthly payments "as safely as possible."
"I want to emphasize that not everyone can strike, and that's okay," Braxton Brewington, spokesperson for the Debt Collective, told Insider. "A strike is people politicizing that they're unwilling and unable to pay, and it's really something that pushes the envelope and aids the conversation of student-debt cancellation."
Student-loan payments have been on pause since the start of the pandemic, but with Biden planning to restart those payments on May 1, many borrowers have worried about their ability to foot another monthly bill while COVID-19 is still ongoing. As the $1.7 trillion student debt crisis continues to grow, some Democratic lawmakers have been urging the president to fulfill his campaign pledge to cancel student debt broadly, but he has yet to do so and has been largely silent on when, or if, broad loan relief is coming.
That's why a strike is necessary, Brewington said. "It's a way to stick it to Joe Biden and say, 'If you're going to turn payments on, we're going to try to find as many people as we can who can pay $0 a month so they can enjoy their lives in the way that hopefully they are right now.'"
But, as he noted, "the best way to pay $0 a month is to have all your debt canceled."
How to become a student debt striker
According to the Debt Collective, a student debt striker is anyone who is paying $0 a month "for a combination of economic and political reasons — because they can't pay and know they shouldn't have to pay" and who is committed to fighting for broad student-loan relief.
If a borrower fits that mold, they can fill out the organization's form to indicate which of these five options would best help them reach $0 payments:
Applying for "borrower defense to repayment," a type of loan forgiveness granted to borrowers defrauded by for-profit schools
Applying for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which forgives student debt for public servants after ten years of qualifying payments
Using an income-driven repayment plan, which calculates monthly payments based on income, to help get monthly payments close to $0
Using the Education Department's safety net, which is a 90 day grace period that allows missed payments to go unreported on credit scores
Or staying in school, during which federal loans should be in an in-school deferment period.
Brewington also noted that borrowers currently in default are already on strike because they are unable to make payments on their debt.
Political momentum for student-debt cancellation continues to grow
Striking on student debt isn't about draining money from the Department of Education, Brewington said — it's an "overtly political" action.
As Insider has previously reported, left-leaning economists have said the economy has been doing just fine without student-loan payments made to the federal government during the pandemic. They say that will continue if the payment pause keeps getting extended, or if student debt is canceled altogether.
"In a student debt strike, the main target is the federal government," the Debt Collective said. "The federal government is a unique target because we don't actually hurt the government financially when we don't pay our federal student loans." That's because the government has already issued the debt and has continued to function without the payments.
While lawmakers advocating for broad student-loan relief, like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have not explicitly come out in support of a debt strike, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib has, signaling the potential for further lawmakers supporting $0 payments come May 1.
"The road to student debt cancellation is long and hard, and a key aspect is building solidarity amongst students and graduates with debt," Tlaib told the Debt Collective, adding "we need to resist and abolish student debt, and there are so many ways to support it without putting yourself in financial jeopardy. I stand with Student Debt Strikers and encourage everyone – whether you have debt or not – to join us."
White House considering another pause in student loan payments
Fri, March 4, 2022
White House chief of staff Ron Klain on Thursday signaled that the White House would extend the freeze on student loan payments again, following no mention of student loans at the State of the Union earlier in the week.
"The president is going to look at what we should do on student debt before the pause expires, or he'll extend the pause," Klain said on an episode of the podcast "Pod Save America" that aired on Thursday.
The payment pause, which first began through a moratorium enacted under then-President Trump in March 2020, has been extended five times. It is set to expire in on May 2 after Biden extended it in January.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the White House is reviewing an extension, when asked about Klain's comments.
"That is obviously something we will continue to access and review as we get closer to May. Typically, there's a period of time where you need to make a decision, or you at least need to convey to the leaners what they should prepare for, but I don't have anything to predict at this point in time," she told reporters.
Klain on the podcast said the White House will decide on whether to cancel student debt through executive action before the payments resume. He also noted that Biden is "only president in history where no one's paid on their student loans for the entirety of his presidency."
Biden in April requested a memo from the Department of Education to determine his authority to cancel student debt through executive action. Since then, the administration has not publicly announced if the memo is complete.
The White House has recently pointed to the president's extension in January when asked about the lack of action on student loan forgiveness, an issue the president has been under pressure by Democrats to address throughout his time in office.
The president did not talk about canceling student loan debt in his first State of the Union address after he campaigned in 2020 on forgiving at least $10,000 in federal student loans per person. Progressives have called on him to step that number up to $50,000 per borrower
Fri, March 4, 2022
White House chief of staff Ron Klain on Thursday signaled that the White House would extend the freeze on student loan payments again, following no mention of student loans at the State of the Union earlier in the week.
"The president is going to look at what we should do on student debt before the pause expires, or he'll extend the pause," Klain said on an episode of the podcast "Pod Save America" that aired on Thursday.
The payment pause, which first began through a moratorium enacted under then-President Trump in March 2020, has been extended five times. It is set to expire in on May 2 after Biden extended it in January.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the White House is reviewing an extension, when asked about Klain's comments.
"That is obviously something we will continue to access and review as we get closer to May. Typically, there's a period of time where you need to make a decision, or you at least need to convey to the leaners what they should prepare for, but I don't have anything to predict at this point in time," she told reporters.
Klain on the podcast said the White House will decide on whether to cancel student debt through executive action before the payments resume. He also noted that Biden is "only president in history where no one's paid on their student loans for the entirety of his presidency."
Biden in April requested a memo from the Department of Education to determine his authority to cancel student debt through executive action. Since then, the administration has not publicly announced if the memo is complete.
The White House has recently pointed to the president's extension in January when asked about the lack of action on student loan forgiveness, an issue the president has been under pressure by Democrats to address throughout his time in office.
The president did not talk about canceling student loan debt in his first State of the Union address after he campaigned in 2020 on forgiving at least $10,000 in federal student loans per person. Progressives have called on him to step that number up to $50,000 per borrower
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