Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Ed. Note — Florida’s Primaries are in the rearview mirror, and as the dust settles and campaigns begin, it seemed a suitable time to take a breather and give Sunburn a night off. Don’t worry; your morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics will return to inboxes Friday morning. Thanks for your support, and please stay safe.
___
President Joe Biden announced a plan that will cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for Americans making less than $125,000 a year, and up to double that for Pell Grant recipients.
“In keeping with my campaign promise, my Administration is announcing a plan to give working and middle-class families breathing room as they prepare to resume federal student loan payments in January 2023,” Biden said in a tweet ahead of the detailed announcement.
The plan drops a few months ahead of when student loan payments are expected to resume after being paused during the pandemic.
The Biden administration’s plan affects Americans nationwide, and Florida is no exception. According to an April report from the Education Data Initiative, 2.6 million Floridians hold a combined $100.9 billion in debt. The average outstanding debt measures at $35,496, which is a skosh lower than the national average of $36,689.
About a third of Floridians with student loan debt owe less than $5,000, meaning their debt would be completely forgiven. Another one in five are carrying between $10,000 and $20,000 in student loan debt and would have their burden halved or potentially fully forgiven depending on the amount, their income level, and whether it included Pell Grants.
The same report found that Floridians who are under 25 have $14,536 in student loans on average, so more than two-thirds of their burden would be crossed out with the stroke of a pen.
Evening Reads
—”Is Florida still a swing state? The next 11 weeks will determine the answer” via Alex Roarty of the Miami Herald
—”4 takeaways from the Florida Primary Elections” via Kirby Wilson of the Tampa Bay Times
—“Big student loan forgiveness plan announced by Joe Biden” via Seung Min Kim, Chris Megerian, Collin Binkley and Zeke Miller of The Associated Press
—“Marco Rubio bashes student loan ‘bailout’, pushes reform bill” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—“Which Florida races are heading for a recount?” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
—“Kathleen Passidomo lays out Senate GOP message for Midterms” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
—”Yes, Special Elections really are signaling a better-than-expected Midterm for Democrats” via Nathaniel Rakich of FiveThirtyEight
—“Workers’ compensation rates could be reduced by 8.4% in 2023” via Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics
—“What is wrong with Ron DeSantis’ arms?” via Matt Stieb of Intelligencer
—“There is no national teacher shortage” via Derek Thompson of The Atlantic
—“Florida Gators’ team picture worth at least 1,000 words” via Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel
Quote of the Day
“Forgiving student loan debt isn’t free. It means the 85% of Americans with no undergraduate debt from college will be carrying the burden for those that do.”
— U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, on the student loan forgiveness plan.
Bill Day’s Latest
Breakthrough Insights
One comment
Truly Answer
August 24, 2022 at 7:10 pm
I paid for my college (Associate’s Degree and Bachelor’s Degree, halfway to Masters) out of my pocket with no government support. Please explain to me why I should now have to pay for students to be released from their contracted debt? Yes, I can accept your answer that the purpose is to generate votes for Democrats. That is the only true answer.
Comments are closed.