President Joe Biden [anounced on Wednesday] that he will “cancel” up to $10,000 or $20,000 in student loan debt per debtor. This “forgiveness”, however, will only apply to individuals who earn less than $125,000 a year.
In a more just society, Biden’s plan would be widely unpopular. However in a recent NPR/Ipsos poll that oversampled people with student loan debt—55% of Americans support Biden’s student loan forgiveness.
Though some of these Americans are probably Christians, student loan forgiveness is antithetical to Christian ethics. Therefore Christians shouldn’t support it.
People who support student loan forgiveness frame it as a justice issue—and they’re right. Unlike many Christians, social justice activists understand that it’s impossible to separate ethics and justice from all aspects of life.
Social justice activists are not wrong about what they consider justice issues—They are wrong about what they consider evil or good, injustice or justice. As the Bible says, “Evil men do not understand justice.” (Proverbs 28:4)
We Christians, however, should understand justice. We should understand that debt is a matter of justice. We should know that like every justice issue, the Bible has addressed Christian ethics on (student) debt.
Therefore one of the reasons why we Christians shouldn’t support student loan forgiveness is because it promotes wickedness. The Bible says, “the wicked borrows but does not pay back.” (Psalm 37:21)
Joe Biden’s plan will force many Americans into sin. This will force many Americans into disobeying God’s explicit commandments about debt. (Romans 13: 7-8)
Another reason why Christians shouldn’t support student loan forgiveness is because it’s partiality. Biden’s plan would only apply to individuals who earn less than $125,000 a year.
But what makes a person who earns $124,000 a year more deserving of “forgiveness”? In fact, what makes a person who earns $20,000 a year more deserving of “forgiveness” than a person who makes $125,000 a year?
Many of us have become so accustomed to partiality, we’re not only untroubled by it, we don’t even know what it looks like.
The Bible, however, is clear on this. God is troubled by partiality. He hates sin—therefore he hates partiality, including partiality related to student loan “forgiveness”. God shows no partiality. So we shouldn’t show partiality against wealthy people in order to “help” poor people.
The Bible says, “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.” (Leviticus 19:15)
Just as we shouldn’t show partiality against wealthy student loan debtors or poor student loan debtors—we also shouldn’t show partiality against other kinds of debtors.
Biden’s student loan forgiveness isn’t just partiality against wealthy student loan debtors. It’s also partiality against people who have already worked extremely hard to pay off their student debts—and it’s also partiality against people with mortgage debts, medical debts, car debts, and other kinds of debts.
Why shouldn’t people with other kinds of debts receive the same kinds of “forgiveness”?
The answer, perhaps, is “not yet”. Unless we drastically correct course, it’s a matter of time before progressive politicians arrive at their communist destination.
Nevertheless, “cancelling” student loan debts won’t help anyone. In fact, it’ll only create more injustice and suffering. The Bible says, “the borrower is the slave of the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7)
Therefore it shouldn’t surprise us that at a time when Americans (especially poor Americans) are already suffering record-high inflation, Obama’s and Biden’s top economic advisor during Obama’s presidency—Larry Summers—warned that student loan forgiveness would make inflation even worse.
Meaning, though 87% of Americans do not have student loan debts, 100% of Americans would pay for Biden’s plan.
According to the Penn-Wharton Budget Model, this would cost Americans between $300 billion and $980 billion over the next ten years.
In other words, Biden’s student loan “forgiveness” isn’t real forgiveness. It doesn’t cancel an individual’s debt, it redistributes their debt and forces others to pay for it.
Student loan forgiveness is like a person who “forgives” an individual of their debt by harassing the debtor’s grandparents until they pay for it.
Student loan forgiveness doesn’t forgive anyone, it penalizes everyone.
So those of us who know what real forgiveness looks like shouldn’t support this corrupt definition of forgiveness. We Christians shouldn’t support student loan “forgiveness.”
