Americans have continued to protest the decision of the United States Supreme Court which overruled President Joe Biden’s programme to cancel billions of dollars in student debt.
An American, identified as Satra D. Taylor, who borrowed $40,000 to complete her education stated that the cancellation would have seen her student debt reduced by half.
“We created this unjust, inequitable, expensive, higher education system and so we need to redress it,” she told AFP, standing before the high court.
Low- and middle-class Americans are being strangled by more than $400 billion in student debt; Biden’s forgiveness programme aims to lessen that load.
The cancellation amount ranged from $10,000 to $20,000 for several debtors. $10,000 was the average.
However, on Friday, the court rejected the proposal, finding that the president had overstepped his bounds by attempting to spend such a large sum of money.
“Any American who wants to pursue higher education should be able to do so,” Taylor said.
“We have students now who have not acquired the generational wealth to pay for their cost of college, it needs to be debt-free,” added Taylor, who works for the youth advocacy group Young Invincibles.
Taylor claimed that the conservative majority of the Supreme Court, which on Thursday outlawed the use of affirmative action in university admissions procedures, did not surprise her.
African American student Taylor stated Black and Latino students who “would have disproportionately benefited from this relief” were hurt by the loan forgiveness decision.
“This is absolutely not only a social justice issue, but also a racial equity issue,” Taylor added.
Mina Schultz, 37, emphasised the effect that student debt has on the entire economy. She borrowed almost $65,000 for her studies.
When the epidemic struck and student loan repayments were suspended, it was “a blessing,” she told AFP from outside the Supreme Court.
The George Washington University alumnus claimed that people were “able to contribute more to the economy” by spending money in other places, such as on items like rent or food, both of which saw price increases owing to inflation.
$10,000 in debt cancellation would have helped Schultz and “would have been really helpful.”
The amount of money at question “is a huge deal to a lot of people,” according to Schultz, who will be paying about $340 per month once payments resume in a few months.
During the repayment break, she appeared to be living debt-free and was able to move out of her studio and into a one-bedroom flat.
As she talked in front of numerous cameras, nearby Shanna Hayes, 34, struggled to hold back her tears as she said: “Her debt, originally $130,000, now exceeds $150,000 due to compounding interest that has accrued over the past 11 years.”
“I ask you to remember that the student debt crisis impacts our grandparents, parents… children and future generations,” she told the reporters.
