[Update: This event will be livestreamed at https://www.cancelmystudentdebt.org/peoples-rally-livestream ]
Sign up for the People's Rally for Student Debt Cancellation to be held outside the US Supreme Court, Tuesday morning, February 28, 2023. And please share this event with people in your network.
The Supreme Court case involves the constitutionality of President Biden's order to cancel more than $400 billion in student loan debt, that according to the NY Fed would provide a disproportionate amount of relief to low and middle-income families.
Supporters of the People's Rally include the Debt Collective, NAACP, National Urban League, American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, SEIU, the National Consumer Law Center, Young Invincibles, and Move On. Senator Elizabeth Warren will be one of the speakers.
While there is no substitute for People on the ground, folks can also attend online.
Before the hearing, the People are invited to use the #CancelItSCOTUS! hashtag and flood Twitter with personal and shared stories of why the cancellation is so vital. Access the toolkit to join the Twitterstorm on 2/28 at 9-11am.
Currently, there are about 45 million Americans carrying student loan debt. Based on our interpretation of the 2022 Financial Student Aid Annual Report, about 40 percent of the federal student loan debt portfolio ($674 Billion of $1.7 Trillion) is unrecoverable.*
Meanwhile, student loan debt collectors like Maximus receive hundreds of millions of dollars from the US government while sometimes using unethical and predatory business practices.
Students who attended subprime schools or who had low financial value majors have been hardest hit. And the debt takes its toll on millions of citizens, their families, and their communities--and reduces their opportunities to live the American Dream.
About 200,000 student debtors who were defrauded by subprime schools are also facing a legal battle in the 9th Circuit Court to have their debt forgiven. Hundreds of thousands more have filed Borrower Defense to Repayment claims and are awaiting for decisions that can take several years, due to understaffing and an enormous backlog at the US Department of Education.
So far, ED has only approved Borrower Defense to Repayment claims from a handful of closed schools, and it appears that victims of fraud from other subprime schools, like the University of Phoenix, have received blanket denials.
Pushing back against the debtors, Republican lawmakers are calling for mandatory loan repayments to restart.
Stay tuned to this post for more information. #strikedebt
*We have asked the US Department of Education press team for a comment, but they have not responded, which is often the case.
Related link: I Went on Strike to Cancel My Student Debt and Won. Every Debtor Deserves the Same. (Ann Bowers*)
Related link: Assessing the Relative Progressivity of the Biden Administration’s Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Proposal (NY Fed)
Related link: Federal Student Aid FY 2022 Annual Report
Related link: Sweet v Cardona (Borrower Defense to Repayment)
Related link: Maximus, Student Loan Debt, and the Poverty Industrial Complex
Related link: Borrower Defense to Repayment Loan Forgiveness Data
