Ohio Gov. Office
Gov. Mike DeWine after signing the $74 billion, two-year state budget.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, along with 21 other governors, signed a letter on Monday asking President Joe Biden not to go through with his student loan forgiveness plan.
Biden announced a plan to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt in late August.
All of the governors that signed the letter are Republican and include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.
"As governors, we support making higher education more affordable and accessible for students in our states, but we fundamentally oppose your plan to force American taxpayers to pay off the student loan debt of an elite few," the letter begins.
"Borrowers with the most debt, such as $50,000 or more, almost exclusively have graduate degrees, meaning hourly workers will pay off the master's and doctorate degrees of high salaried lawyers, doctors, and professors," the letter continues.
The student loan forgiveness plan will forgive up to $10,000 of student loans for anyone making less than $125,000 per year. Only students who received Pell grants when they went to college can have up to $20,000 of student loans forgiven. Pell grants are for low-income students.
The letter goes on to claim that college graduates with student loans are basically irresponsible elitists looking for a handout.
"College may not be the right decision for every American, but for the students who took out loans, it was their decision: able adults and willing borrowers who knowingly agreed to the terms of the loan and consented to taking on debt in exchange for taking classes. A high-cost degree is not the key to unlocking the American Dream — hard work and personal responsibility is," the letter states.
It's a hard line that Republicans never seem to take when businesses need bail outs.
St. Louis Public Radio reports that U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona told NPR the student loan forgiveness plan is largely about undoing some of the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Everyone knows someone that's struggling post pandemic," Cardona told NPR. "And, you know, if we help folks in the communities so that they — reduce the chances of them going into default, everybody wins. It helps the economy."
The remaining governors who signed the letter include:
Mike Parons, Missouri; Kim Reynolds, Iowa; Kay Ivey, Alabama; Mike Dunleavy, Alaska; Doug Ducey, Arizona; Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas; Brad Little, Idaho; Larry Hogan, Maryland; Greg Gianforte, Montana; Pete Ricketts, Nebraska; Chris Sununu, New Hampshire; Doug Burgum, North Dakota; Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma; Henry McMaster, South Carolina; Kristi Noem, South Dakota; Bill Lee, Tennessee; Spencer Cox, Utah; Mark Gordon, Wyoming.
Originally published by The Riverfront Times, Scene's sister paper in St. Louis.
