SCOTUS decision on student debt forgiveness is a 'blow to racial and social justice'
SCOTUS decision on student debt forgiveness is a 'blow to racial and social justice'
MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy issued the following statement in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Biden v. Nebraska concerning forgiveness of student debt:
The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down President Biden’s visionary and legally justified plan to cancel a portion of the student debt held by millions of Americans is a blow to social and racial justice.
The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down President Biden’s visionary and legally justified plan to cancel a portion of the student debt held by millions of Americans is a blow to social and racial justice.
Until we have a Congress that will find solutions to the student-debt crisis for the entire country, the challenge must fall to the states. Massachusetts, led by the MTA, will continue a mission to allow the state’s residents attend a public college or university debt-free.
The burden of student debt, here and in other states, has fallen more heavily on women and students of color — perpetuating systemic inequities. We cannot achieve our goals for racial and economic justice without providing access to high-quality, debt-free public higher education for all.
We have too many graduates who are unable to fully participate in the economy because of their student debt. A study completed by UMass Amherst pointed out that the state forgoes $2.5 billion in savings, equity and economic activity due to the burden of debt held by the Commonwealth’s college graduates.
Student debt represents a failure of the government to support essential investments. We all benefit – especially in a place like Massachusetts – when more of our residents have access to public higher education. And we all suffer when young people and families are burdened with debt.
The excessive debt incurred by students trying to join the workforce and contribute to their communities is another indicator of how the economy is rigged against working families and historically marginalized students who are seeking greater socioeconomic mobility.
It is shameful that a state as wealthy as Massachusetts is so poorly supporting its students. In fiscal 2023, Massachusetts tied for 44th place, near the bottom among the 50 states, in state support for higher education as a share of personal income. When adjusted for inflation and enrollment changes, state appropriations to public higher education dropped by 15 percent between fiscal years 2001 and 2022.
Alleviating student debt was a primary reason MTA fought so hard to win passage of the Fair Share Amendment. We must be moving toward a debt-free future for our students attending public colleges and universities in Massachusetts.
The student-debt crisis is also directly linked to the shortage of educators that many schools are now experiencing, and it hampers efforts to diversify the educator workforce.
The MTA and its allies support passage of the Cherish Act to improve access to high-quality public higher education in Massachusetts. And the MTA urges states throughout the country to likewise address the cost to students who are attending public colleges and universities. Immediate debt reduction, however, is a sensible and immediate action to provide relief to those being penalized by an inequitable and unjust system.