Contention 1: Economic Growth

Loan debt is increasing at an alarming pace.

CFR 23

Student debt has more than doubled over the last two decades. As of March 2023, about forty-
four million U.S. borrowers collectively owed more than $1.6 trillion in federal student loans.
Additional private loans bring that total to above $1.7 trillion, surpassing auto loans and credit
card debt. Only home mortgage debt, at about $12 trillion, is larger.

In fact,

Jacobson 23 explains

Research by the nonpartisan Education Data Initiative shows that Since 2006, the total national
student loan debt balance has increased by 116%, or at an annual rate of 8%, while soaring 399%
since 2000.

This could be detrimental for the economy as,

Koruth 23 details

Federal student loan repayments start[ed] on October 1st, marking the end of a three-year
pandemic-era grace period that seemed like it could last forever.

Holman 23 notes
But the Student loan payments will also restart [come] at the same time consumers face a number
of other [issues,] headwinds, including shrinking savings, piles, a cooler job market and higher
price levels. after two years of rapid inflation. It could also coincide with major strikes —
Hollywood actors and writers have been locked in a work stoppage all summer, and the United
Auto Workers began a targeted strike on Friday, one that economists warn could be disruptive if
it lasts. Adding another source of looming uncertainty, Congress could fail to reach a funding
agreement by the end of this month, forcing a government shutdowns
Dipalma 23 furthers
Brooke Dipalma 8/23 [Brooke Dipalma·Reporter, 8-23-2023, America's retailers and restaurants
brace for a shock from student loan payments, Yahoo
Finance,https://finance.yahoo.com/news/americas-retailers-and-restaurants-brace-for-a-shock-
from-student-loan-payments-175132890.html ]//IH
Borrowers aren't the only ones bracing for the impact of student loan payments resuming. Some
of America's biggest retail and food chains have been preparing investors for a slowdown in
consumer spending as the more than three-year pause in student loan payments comes to an
end. Student loans, along with other forms of consumer debt, are going to "come into focus in
the next month or two,"Macy's (M) CFO Adrian Mitchell said on Tuesday. "So we just believe
that the customer is coming under pressure because these are new realities that they have to
continue to deal with as we get through the back half of this year and move into next year." A
similar warning came this month from the world's largest retailer, Walmart. "Jobs, wages, and
pockets of disinflation are helping our customers. But rising energy prices, Resuming student
loan payments, higher borrowing costs and tightening lending standards, and a drawdown in
excess savings mean that household budgets are still under pressure," Walmart CEO Doug
McMillon told Wall Street when the retailer reported earnings. Federal student loans will begin
to accrue interest again on Sept. 1, with payments resuming on Oct. 1.

Nova 23 corroborates
Annie Nova 10/01 [Annie Nova, 10-01-2023, Student loan bills resume for 40 million
Americans. How it could shake the economy, CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/01/how-
the-restart-of-student-loan-payments-could-shake-the-economy.html] //IH
“The economy will struggle in the fourth quarter, in meaningful part due to the end of the
student loan payment moratorium,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s
Analytics. ‘Additional pressure on already strained budgets’ Financial services firm Jefferies is
warning that “there could be a significant risk to consumer spending ahead,” because of the
resumption of student loan payments. It recently surveyed about 600 consumers with student
debt, finding that half of borrowers are “very concerned” about meeting all of their
expenses. Around 70% of borrowers plan to postpone big-ticket purchases come
October, its poll found. Meanwhile, many people with student debt plan to cut back their
spending on clothing, travel and food. “As we go into the holiday season, this will be an
extra drag on retail spending,”

Hanson 23 finds,

Economists compare the rise in student loan debt to “the housing bubble that precipitated the
2007-2009 recession” and the subsequent economic downturn. Since 2006, the total national
student loan debt balance has increased by 116% or at an annual rate of 8%.

However, affirming solves.

Roosevelt 22
Freeing up funds through debt cancellation would allow millions of borrowers to spend into
the broader economy. Short-term Consumption levels could be boosted by as much as 4
percent,increas[e]ing real GDP by between $86 billion and $108 billion over 10 years.
New economic activity generated by debt cancellation would reduce the unemployment rate
[by] between 0.22 and 0.36 percentage points over the next decade. n Debt cancellation could
also boost entrepreneurship and small business creation, a driver of economic growth. The
number of young entrepreneurs is in steep decline, and the share of start-ups founded by
millenials has been cut in half over the last 20 years. Of that age group, 50 percent reported that
student loans affected their ability to start a business. In total, debt burdens resulted in an
estimated two million fewer businesses being formed between 2006 and 2015. Especially during
the COVID-19 crisis, bold and immediate action is necessary and readily available. A number of
current legislative proposals to cancel student debt have broad support from lawmakers, activists,
and academics. Additionally, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
have called on President Biden to cancel up to $50,000 for all borrowers in his first months in
office. Such a move would be a quick stimulative action, immediately giving money to millions
while helping build a more robust and equitable economy going forward.

Hanson continues

Debt forgiveness could potentially increase consumer spending by as much as 3.3%.

That’s good because

EDI 23 quantifies
EDI 23, 3-31-2023, "Effects of Cancelling Student Loan Debt (2023): Short & Long-Term,"
Education Data Initiative,https://educationdata.org/what-happens-if-student-loan-debt-is-
canceled

Report Highlights. Canceling student loan debt may add $109 billion on average to the annual
GDP for the next 6 years. Canceling student loan debt may add up to 1.5 million new
jobs. Student loan debt cancellation may [and] lift up to 5.2 million American households out of
poverty. Debt cancellation could potentially [by] increas[ing]econsumer spending by as much as
3.3%. Current debt canceling plans would reduce the debt burden for 38.3 million Americans
with federally-held student loan balances.

Reed 23
Importantly, this plan [Forgiveness] would also help more than 40 million student borrowers,
many of whom are at risk of delinquency or default because of hardships brought on by the
COVID-19 pandemic. In fact,More than half of all student borrowers say their entire financial
stability depends on loan forgiveness.

Contention 2: Equal Opportunities

Student loan forgiveness promotes equity and equal access to education.

Siripurapu 22

Income and wealth Inequality in the United States is substantially higher than in almost any other
developed nation, and it is on the rise, sparking an intensifying national debate. The 2008 global
financial crisis, the slow and uneven recovery, and the economic shock caused by the COVID-19
pandemic have deepened these trends and challenged policymakers to respond. Economists say
the causes of worsening inequality are complex and include a failure to adapt to globalization
and technological change, shifting tax policy, reduced bargaining power among workers, and [is]
long-standing racial and gender discrimination. The effects of inequality are similarly varied, and
they have exacerbated crises such as the pandemic and deepened societal divisions. Inequality
can also weaken democracy and give rise to authoritarian movements.

Wright 23 explains

Borrowers collectively owe more than $1.75 trillion in total student loan debt. with the average
borrower owing $28,950 individually. America’s racial wealth gap means that the student debt
burden falls disproportionately on students of color and their families, with long-term
implications.

Hanson 23 quantifies,
Four years after graduation, Black students owe an average of 188% more than White students
borrowed.
Khan 22 explains this is
“Put simply, Black borrowers both acquire more debt and, Due to wage and employment
inequities in the labor market., are in more precarious positions when it comes to their ability to
repay,” the authors write.
Clayton 19 states,
Black college graduates start out owing more than their White peers, but the gap in student loan
debt more than triples over the next few years. Growing interest and borrowing for graduate
school lead to Black graduates holding nearly $53,000 in student loan debt four years after
graduation, almost twice as much as White graduates. The picture gets even worse further out
from graduation. While cumulative default rates continue to rise for all borrowers between 12
and 20 years after students start college, Black graduates with a bachelor’s degree default at five-
times the rate of White bachelor’s graduates—21% compared with 4%. Among all college
students who started in 2003–04 (not just borrowers), 38% of Black students defaulted within 12
years, while 12% of White students defaulted. Many of these students who defaulted attended
for-profit colleges, where almost half of students default within 12 years of college entry. But
even after accounting for student and family background characteristics (such as family income,
wealth, and parental education); total amounts borrowed; college experiences (including type of
institution attended, degree attainment, and college GPA); and post-college employment status
and income, there remains an 11-percentage-point Black–White disparity in default rates
Forde 21 furthers,
The decomposition allows us to highlight a few major facts. First, White households hold a much
larger share of wealth than their population share, with Black and Hispanic households
disproportionately concentrated at low, or even negative net wealth ranges. In fact, shifting the
distribution of wealth among White households to match the aggregate distribution would lower
inequality by 1/4 of its increase over the past three decades. Second, White households as a
whole contribute more to both the level and growth in inequality than they would under a racial
equality counterfactual. This reflects the fact that high-wealth households, who are
predominantly White, have pulled away from the rest of the distribution over time. The
divergence likely reflects a combination of ability to save, access to high-return assets, and other
factors mean White households are, on average, more able to accrue and grow their wealth than
minorities. One of the most prevalent means of accruing wealth for minority households,
homeownership, has become less common among Black households in recent years, allowing the
wealth gap to widen.
Wright 23 explains,
Student loans have been described as[are] a “debt trap for Black borrowers.” per a 2022 CNBC
interview with sociologist Charlie Eaton. Forgiving this debt would constitute a major, critical
step toward closing the racial wealth gap, [as] In a 2020 paper for the Roosevelt Institute, a team
of researchersfound that “student debt relief would substantially improve the financial security of
Blackand white borrower households and have profound impacts [like] for the asset security of
Black households overall, who would experience substantial relative wealth gains.” Additionally,
they noted that “greater student debt relief leads directly to greater benefits” for both Black and
white borrowers.
However, the racial gap isn’t all.
The US Census Bureau explains,
Recent estimates for 2022 suggest that 25 million women in the U.S. have student loan debt,
compared to around 18 million men in the U.S. Once they graduate from college, women are
likely to earn less than men according to research by the U.S. Census Bureau, meaning they stay
in debt longer and incur more interest over time.
Hanson 23 states,
Women owe a disproportionately high amount of the total student loan debt. Women
are also more likely to have high amounts of debt [because]. Some of this is likely due to the fact
that female bachelor’s degree holders are paid [only] 74% of what their male peers make.

And The American Association of University Women (AAUW) estimates that women hold
nearly 67% of all U.S. student loan debt.

The impact is addressing the history of structural violence against minorities.

Crace 9 explains
The opening sentence of their new book, The Spirit Level, cautions, "People usually exaggerate
the importance of their own work and we worry about claiming too much" - yet by the time you
reach the end you wonder how they could have claimed any more. After all, they argue
that Almost every social problem common in developed societies -[such as] reduced life
expectancy, child mortality, drugs, crime, homicide rates, mental illness and obesity - has a
single root cause: inequality.
Endara 22 explains

Ahead of the Davos Agenda—the World Economic Forum’s virtual State of the World sessions
—Oxfam released our annual inequality report, Inequality Kills, which found that Inequality is
contributing to the death of at least 21,000 people each day, or one person every four seconds.
[This is due to healthcare inequality, gender inequality, and climate change which is significantly
exacerbated by the top 1%.]. Meanwhile, a new billionaire is created every 26 hours. One thing
we know for sure is that inequality makes everything—from humanitarian crises to the impacts
of climate change—worse. It’s time to close the inequality gap.

And Bezruchka 14 finds

Inequality kills through structural violence. [And] there is no smoking gun with this form of
violence. which [It] simply produces a lethally large social and economic gap between rich and
poor.

By forgiving student loans, every community will be benefitted, as

Akila 21 explains,
The decomposition allows us to highlight a few major facts. First, White households hold a much
larger share of wealth than their population share, with Black and Hispanic households
disproportionately concentrated at low, or even negative net wealth ranges. In fact, Shifting the
distribution of wealth among White households to match the aggregate distribution would lower
inequality by 1/4 of its increase over the past three decades. Second, White households as a
whole contribute more to both the level and growth in inequality than they would under a racial
equality counterfactual. This reflects the fact that high-wealth households, who are
predominantly White, have pulled away from the rest of the distribution over time. The
divergence likely reflects a combination of ability to save, access to high-return assets, and other
factors mean White households are, on average, more able to accrue and grow their wealth than
minorities. One of the most prevalent means of accruing wealth for minority households,
homeownership, has become less common among Black households in recent years, allowing the
wealth gap to widen.

And Hanson 23 finds

Student loan debt forgiveness would immediately increase the wealth of Black Americans by up
to 40%.

Thus, we urge an aff ballot.