IBL News | New York
An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that the government should prioritize making college more affordable over forgiving existing student loans, according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll.
Meanwhile, a narrow majority of Americans support forgiving up to $10,000 in federal student loans. But support wanes for a larger amount.
In detail, the main findings point out to the following:
- A majority (55%) of Americans support forgiving up to $10,000 of a person’s student loan debt.
- Fewer Americans support forgiving up to $50,000 (47%) in student loans and forgiving all student loan debt (41%).
- Roughly four in ten Americans support extending the current federal loan pause without forgiving any loan debt (42%) and ending the loan pause now without forgiving any loan debt (41%).
- A wide majority of those with student loans support each of the three proposals asked about: forgiving $10,000 of student debt (84%), $50,000 of student debt (78%), and all student debt (68%).
Americans and those with student loans alike prefer the government to make college cheaper than forgive student loans, according to the poll.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%) say that if the government does forgive some student loan debt, it should be for graduate and undergraduate debt, as opposed to just undergraduate debt (30%).
A majority of Americans with student loan debt say they have not made any payments since the pause began. Instead, most say they have taken this opportunity to catch a financial break.
Nearly half (47%) of Americans with student loan debt say that the federal student loan pause has improved their mental health.
This poll — conducted over 1,022 Americans between June 3 and 5, 2022, with an oversample of more than 400 student loan borrowers — took place as President Biden plans an announcement on federal student loan forgiveness.
