The Argument: Should We Cancel Student Loan Debt?

The Ezra Klein Show

New York Times Opinion

Society & Culture, Government, News

4.6 • 11K Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2021

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, while I'm on vacation, we'll be sharing work from two other New York Times Opinion podcasts. First up, an episode from our friends at The Argument about how to cancel student-loan debt. Host Jane Coaston is joined by activist Astra Taylor and economist Sandy Baum, who agree that addressing the crisis requires dramatic measures but disagree on how to get there. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. The Ezra Klein Show is produced by Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld and Rogé Karma; fact-checking by Michelle Harris; original music by Isaac Jones; mixing by Jeff Geld. Special thanks to Shannon Busta and Kristin Lin.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, welcome to the Ezercline Show, which is going to be less as reclining than normal
0:21.4	today.
0:22.4	I'm on vacation, but we've got something great for you, an episode of our sister podcast,
0:26.9	the argument, which is also part of opinion audio, host of my good friend Jane Kostin,
0:31.4	and this is a debate about something that we've talked about a bunch on the show, which
0:34.7	is whether we should cancel student debt.
0:37.4	You can follow the argument wherever you get your podcasts, but for now, please enjoy.
0:43.6	Today on the argument, imagine if we wiped away every American student loan debt.
0:56.9	Should we?
1:02.2	The cost of higher education in America has skyrocketed in recent decades, and so have
1:07.8	the student loans to pay for it.
1:10.6	Americans are carrying more than $1.7 trillion in college debt.
1:15.0	That's more than we owe credit card companies or auto lenders.
1:18.7	Nearly 43 million of us are still paying off our college tuition.
1:22.5	It's a crisis with massive consequences for our economy, and for millions of Americans
1:26.7	who made, quote, the right decision to get an education.
1:30.6	President Biden campaigned on forgiving $10,000 of debt for everyone.
1:34.8	Democrats have been pushing for more.
1:36.6	Clearly, some relief is on the table, but what's the most fair way to do it?
1:42.7	I'm Jane Kostin, and this is one of those debates I have to be skeptical of my own opinion
1:47.2	on.
1:48.5	As someone with sizeable student loan debt that I have no idea when I'll finish paying
	...

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