On Tuesday, the hosts of ABC's "The View" called for some form of student loan forgiveness and co-host Whoopi Goldberg said the government should get rid of the interest rates for student loans, criticizing the burden it puts on Americans.
Goldberg noted earlier in the segment a report from New York Magazine, which highlighted those still paying off student loans "well into their retirement age."
"How is it possible college can come at this high a price? Because we’re always talking about looking out for older Americans. This affects Americans who have that student debt. It doesn’t matter what your background is or what, you know, if you’re rich or you’re poor. None of that matters, if you have student debt, it goes with you to the grave," she said.
Goldberg said a person should be born with the "gift of higher education" if they want it.
"These interest rates are like worse than the bookies in my neighborhood. I mean, what is this? You know, that’s really outrageous. I believe though, if we’re not going to go with your plan, which is my favorite, everybody is guaranteed, I think that we need to target it a little bit. Who is going to get the loan and who is going to pay it back?" Joy Behar said. "If you’re going to work for doctors without borders, if you're going to become a social worker or a teacher, or something of that, yes, then I’m happy for it. But I don’t think it’s across the board, frankly."
Goldberg later noted a case of an older woman still paying off college debt, and said it was shameful.
"In 1983, at age 52, Betty Ann enrolled in NYU's law school. She borrowed $29,000 in federal loans. She now owes over $229,000. She is 91, she's sold her family furniture to make loan payments, wonders if without the debt she could have stayed in a home she once owned. Listen these are the debts you need to forgive. Because people who are in there 70s and 80s may not be making the same money they made in there 50s and 60, you need to forgive this, this is ridiculous," she said.
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Sunny Hostin said Biden could cancel another $300-350 billion in student loans and that he had already canceled $25 billon in student loans. Goldberg said older people needed their loans forgiven.
"You talk about, people can't get gas, they can't buy food, they can't put their children through any kind of college, that's because they're paying off these freaking student debts," she said. "Just consider this, get rid of the interest. Let people pay back what they borrowed and let us go from there."
The Washington Post editorial board said the president's latest plan for student loans, which aims to forgive $10,000 per borrower among other things,"would still be an expensive and inequitable election-year stunt."
The federal pause on student loan payments is set to expire at the end of August.
