1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

As a holder of student loan debt, I am disgusted and frightened by this administration’s moves to not only undo whatever necessary progress Biden’s administration made on student loan repayment, but to further disregard the terms that I agreed to over over 15 years ago when I finished graduate school. I’ve been working as a psychotherapist —a small business owner! —ever since finishing the many years of interning for minimum wage and often time less after finishing school. This would not have been possible without IBR. But I’ve always maintained that the way compounding interest has impacted my debt is truly predatory. I have been making payments since 2010. My debt has increased by at least 50%. But I keep doing my important work, showing up for my clients, thinking “at least when the 25 years are up, this debt can finally stop weighing on me.” I’m 15 years into holding this burden. As a therapist I know what this is doing to me psychologically and physically as I watch the number continue to rise, uncertain if the contract I entered will even be honored. This is not student assistance, this is punishment. This is cruelty. This is not an investment in a strong, skilled American citizenry. So Biden steps in and I think “well $20k in forgiveness is really a small amount compared to my debt but it’s something! And I’m so relieved for the millions of people who won’t have to choose between making payments and putting food on the table. This is a vital step.” Not only that, I believed, upon switching to the SAVE plan that at least one of the worst offenses of the program—the ever ballooning compounding interest—would be fixed. Maybe I could at least start to see my balance slowly drop. Now SAVE is being dismantled as well as many IBR options. Millions of people have been through a horrific whiplash, our futures being played with like pawns for the wealthy and powerful who could probably pay off multiple people’s loans without even noticing. I’m angry. I’m scared. I demand every members of congress fight hard to protect borrowers. We entered these agreements in good faith. Don’t let them treat us like Trump treats his contractors. We aren’t lazy or stupid. And we cannot be marks for this shady con of an administration. Keep loan payments (AND INTEREST) paused. Fight like hell to force the Republicans and Trump to honor the agreements millions of borrowers entered into. Keep us moving towards debt cancellation. This is the only path that will truly heal the damage done and lift millions out of financial insecurity.