Stacy Cowley

Exactly. There were record unemployment numbers. And one thing about this is not only was the government the one that shut things down, they are also the creditor for all of these student loans. It's a very unusual market in that they don't have to go to banks. They don't have to go to private lenders. Right.

Exactly. There were record unemployment numbers. And one thing about this is not only was the government the one that shut things down, they are also the creditor for all of these student loans. It's a very unusual market in that they don't have to go to banks. They don't have to go to private lenders. Right.

Exactly. So it was very easy for them to say, OK, we're just going to turn it off. And that was always intended to be a temporary measure, but it kept getting extended. First by President Trump. So Trump extended it several times. Then President Biden took office and he extended it several times. And it just kept going and going and going.

Exactly. So it was very easy for them to say, OK, we're just going to turn it off. And that was always intended to be a temporary measure, but it kept getting extended. First by President Trump. So Trump extended it several times. Then President Biden took office and he extended it several times. And it just kept going and going and going.

So it officially stretched for about four years until September 2023. But then President Biden added an additional thing to this. He said for the next year, all right, you're supposed to be making payments. We're going to try to collect, but we're not going to report you to the credit bureaus if you don't.

So it officially stretched for about four years until September 2023. But then President Biden added an additional thing to this. He said for the next year, all right, you're supposed to be making payments. We're going to try to collect, but we're not going to report you to the credit bureaus if you don't.

There wasn't a lot of negative consequences if you just didn't start paying. So a lot of people didn't. And adding to that was the confusion around what was going to happen to this debt. I mean, President Biden was pursuing the plan of mass debt cancellation up to $20,000 per borrower. The Supreme Court then overturned that.

There wasn't a lot of negative consequences if you just didn't start paying. So a lot of people didn't. And adding to that was the confusion around what was going to happen to this debt. I mean, President Biden was pursuing the plan of mass debt cancellation up to $20,000 per borrower. The Supreme Court then overturned that.

And all of these people who thought their debts might go away entirely got that disappointment.

And all of these people who thought their debts might go away entirely got that disappointment.

And then President Biden moved on to his plan B, which was introducing a new repayment plan called SAVE that was much more generous than any past payment plan.

And then President Biden moved on to his plan B, which was introducing a new repayment plan called SAVE that was much more generous than any past payment plan.

Well, it was an income-driven payment plan, meaning that your payments would be directly tied to how much you were making. It was deliberately an attempt to keep things affordable. And on past payment plans, that's typically been limited to about 10 percent of your discretionary income. President Biden's plan cut that in half. for people with only undergraduate loans.

Well, it was an income-driven payment plan, meaning that your payments would be directly tied to how much you were making. It was deliberately an attempt to keep things affordable. And on past payment plans, that's typically been limited to about 10 percent of your discretionary income. President Biden's plan cut that in half. for people with only undergraduate loans.

So suddenly people whose payments were 10% of, you know, their income were cut down to 5%. That's a huge change.

So suddenly people whose payments were 10% of, you know, their income were cut down to 5%. That's a huge change.

There's a real political divide around here. And the reality of the demographics don't always bear it out. A lot of the people who do have debt, it is a lot of people who are working class. And a lot of people have amounts from things like trade schools and professional schools that they haven't been able to pay off.

There's a real political divide around here. And the reality of the demographics don't always bear it out. A lot of the people who do have debt, it is a lot of people who are working class. And a lot of people have amounts from things like trade schools and professional schools that they haven't been able to pay off.

Exactly. But it was definitely clear that Trump had a very different vision for this than President Biden did. And that if he were to come back to office, that a lot of what Biden had built was going to go away.

Exactly. But it was definitely clear that Trump had a very different vision for this than President Biden did. And that if he were to come back to office, that a lot of what Biden had built was going to go away.