ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Struggling with student loans can be a common headache. President Biden has shared in the past he wants to forgive a minimum of $10,000 per person of federal student loans.
Over a year later, it has not been done and people are wondering if and when it will be brought up again.
Founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors Betsy Mayotte says it’s a complicated issue. “There are some people saying that’s amazing that would solve everything for me and there are other people saying that’s not even a drop in the bucket,” she said.
Federal Reserve data shows student loan debt in the United States is around $1.7 trillion including federal and private loans.
Lauren Nichols, a student at the University of South Florida, says she struggles to balance school work and a job in order to pay off her tuition fees. She says student loan debt is something all of her siblings are dealing with right now.
“Everyone I talk to, we all struggle with it," Nichols explained.
Mayotte says she thinks $10,000 in loan forgiveness would be beneficial.
“Although it may not sound like much compared to what some people were hoping for this has the potential to have an enormous impact on the people that need it the most,” she said.
Despite her thoughts, she says she has heard a lot of mixed reactions surrounding the topic and there are definitely people who don't want to see this happen as well. “This is US taxpayer money so there are some voters that might not like the idea of forgiving student loan debt,” she explained.
She says one of the biggest questions people bring up to her is — could the president actually put something like this into place?
“There’s a couple of factors going on here, number one does he have the authority to do it and people feel really strongly on whatever their legal position is on that," Mayotte explained. "If he doesn’t have the legal authority to do it under an executive order, it could get challenged in court."