[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-586882-105":59,"doc-detail-586882-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","how-student-debt-forgiveness-widens-the-diploma-divide","How Student Debt Forgiveness Widens the Diploma Divide","","A policy analysis examines how student loan forgiveness affects different economic groups, arguing that broad debt cancellation misrepresents the needs of working-class Americans. It reviews evidence on who holds student debt, showing that many working people—often noncollege households—gain little from forgiveness. The paper also weighs financing tradeoffs and links forgiveness proposals to political dynamics, suggesting they align too closely with educated, affluent college graduates rather than ordinary voters.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/how-student-debt-forgiveness-widens-the-diploma-divide/586882/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/how-student-debt-forgiveness-widens-the-diploma-divide/586882.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Sarah ","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-03","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":29},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Who is the plan for, according to the paper?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The paper notes that President Biden framed the plan as helping working people and the middle class, specifying income thresholds and larger amounts for former Pell Grant recipients.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why does the paper argue student debt forgiveness does not help many working-class households?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It emphasizes that most working-class families either did not attend college or do not hold student loans, so debt relief benefits a limited share of those groups.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What alternative solutions does the paper propose for noncollege workers?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The paper argues for greater investment in apprenticeships, job training, career pathways, larger Pell Grants, and policies to reduce university administrative bloat to lower tuition and improve wages.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},586882,1792190903,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":29,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962085320529,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","How Student Debt Forgiveness Widens the Diploma Divide  \nNICK BUFFIE  \nPROGRESSIVE POLICY INSTITUTE  \nJUNE 2023  \n @ppi |  @progressivepolicyinstitute |  /progressive-policy-institute  \nHOW STUDENT DEBT FORGIVENESS WIDENS THE DIPLOMA DIVIDE  \nHow Student Debt Forgiveness Widens the Diploma Divide  \nNICK BUFFIE  \nJUNE 2023  \nINTRODUCTION  \nIn August of last year, President Biden announced an ambitious plan to wipe out more than $400 billion of student loan debt for the nation’s borrowers.1 Individuals with incomes below $125,000 (and couples with combined incomes below $250,000) could receive up to $10,000 of loan forgiveness, with former Pell Grant recipients receiving up to $20,000.2 Speaking about his plan less than a week before the midterm elections, the president made it clear who he was trying to help.  \n“I want to state again who will benefit most: working people and middle-class folks,” he declared in a speech at Central New Mexico Community College (CNMCC) .3  \nGiven the skyrocketing costs of higher education, some borrowers — particularly those with low incomes and those who were scammed by for-profit colleges — genuinely need assistance. But portraying student loan forgiveness as a working-class issue is highly misleading. In fact, data on student borrowing shows that debt relief benefits few working-class families, most of whom never attended college in the first place.  \nThis paper dives deeply into the evidence on the economic impact of student loan forgiveness. As the paper shows, proposals from political progressives to forgive all student loan debt (or large amounts such as $50,000 of debt) overwhelmingly benefit affluent Americans. President Biden departed from these more elitist proposals, yet his decision to forgive even a more limited amount is still puzzling. At a time when the economic returns to education are rising and the Democratic Party is losing noncollege voters, it makes little sense to target government aid to people who attended college.4  \nHOW STUDENT DEBT FORGIVENESS WIDENS THE DIPLOMA DIVIDE  \nThe noncollege workers who do not benefit from the President’s plan are certainly in greater need of support than student loan borrowers.  \nThe paper goes on to examine the question of why the Democratic Party —traditionally the party of working-class people — has become so focused on canceling student loans. One possibility is that Democratic lawmakers are ensconced in a D. C. bubble. The nation’s highest student loan balances are found in Washington, and these borrowers would benefit more  \nfrom President Biden’s forgiveness plan than borrowers in 49 out of 50 states. In short, many in the party establishment seem to be conflating the problems of highly educated college graduates — an elite class of Americans — with those of working-class people.  \nThis is not to deny that the cost of college has become a significant problem in recent decades. Over the past 19 years, consumer prices have risen 59%, and per capita personal incomeshave doubled (in nominal dollars) .5 By contrast, prices for college textbooks have risen 122%, and college tuition (net of grant aid) has gone up 124% .6 This means that a typical family would have found it more difficult to finance a college education in 2022 than in 2003. Some students understandably forego college entirely, while those who attend are stuck with high bills.  \nUnsurprisingly, many households have turned to the student loan system. Between the first quarter of 2003 and the fourth quarter of 2022, student loan debt held by consumers increased from $392 billion to $1.6 trillion (in inflationadjusted dollars) .7 Student loans also rose from 3. 3% of all consumer debt to 9.4% over the same period.8  \nHowever, the financial burdens of college do not justify widespread student debt relief. If funded through higher taxes, the costs of student loan cancellation will be borne by taxpayers; if funded through higher borrowing, loan cancellation will increase economic d","cbCair7Ti79M4nT3","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCair7Ti79M4nT3","pdf",1488966,36,"English","# Introduction\n# How Student Debt Forgiveness Widens the Diploma Divide\n## Who Benefits from Student Loan Forgiveness?\n## The Broader Economic Case Against Widespread Forgiveness","[{\"question\":\"Who is the plan for, according to the paper?\",\"answer\":\"The paper notes that President Biden framed the plan as helping working people and the middle class, specifying income thresholds and larger amounts for former Pell Grant recipients.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the paper argue student debt forgiveness does not help many working-class households?\",\"answer\":\"It emphasizes that most working-class families either did not attend college or do not hold student loans, so debt relief benefits a limited share of those groups.\"},{\"question\":\"What alternative solutions does the paper propose for noncollege workers?\",\"answer\":\"The paper argues for greater investment in apprenticeships, job training, career pathways, larger Pell Grants, and policies to reduce university administrative bloat to lower tuition and improve wages.\"}]","How Student Debt Forgiveness Widens the Diploma Divide | PDF",1792059832,91]