NEW YORK, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in two challenges to the Biden administration's student debt cancellation plan, which would forgive federal student loans for 40 million Americans at a cost of 430 billion U.S. dollars, said an article published by The Hill on Wednesday.
The court is considering whether the administration has the authority to cancel the debt and whether it followed the proper rule-making process for setting up the program, the opinion article said.
While the court cannot address another troubling issue in play, it should be on the mind of every American struggling in today's economy -- the elitist redistribution of wealth inherent in President Biden's program, the article said.
A recent study published by the Brookings Institution shows that enrollment in post-secondary education is significantly higher among students from wealthier families: nine out of 10 high school freshman from families with incomes in the top 20 percent enrolled in higher education within 18 months of graduation, compared to just half of those in the bottom 20 percent, it said.
In other words, the college-going population disproportionately consists of people from high-income families, and total debt amounts follow the same pattern, according to the article.
According to the Education Data Initiative, 65 percent of student loan debt is held by Americans with incomes higher than the national average. Just 12 percent of student debt is held by the poorest Americans. Any student debt forgiveness that happens today will largely go to the top half of society -- at the expense of everyone else, the article added. ■