It’s time for those who have not been paying their college student loans to pony up or face the consequences.
The U.S. Education Department has announced that it will start cracking down on the millions of delinquent debtors next month, including garnishing their wages if necessary.
The news has drawn unfounded criticism against the Trump administration. If anyone is to be criticized, it is former President Joe Biden, who led most of the student debtors to believe that he had the power to write off much of their debt. That wasn’t true, and the courts stopped him from forgiving more than what Congress had previously authorized.
Student loans are like any other personal financial obligation. Those who borrow to acquire goods or services they can’t afford to purchase outright do so knowing they will have to pay the money back some day, with interest.
The government was generous enough in deferring student loan payments for 3½ years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who still owe shouldn’t have expected more than that, no matter what the former president was promising.
