Recent articles on student debt
Insights into the long and short term impact of the Trump-era student debt changes and a road map for a bipartisan solutions.
Student debt essays on this blog include a wide range of discussions on how recent policy changes impacted student borrowers and taxpayers.
Impact of 2025 tax law on young doctors: Shows limits on standard federal debt have larger adverse impact than new IDR program. Link takes you to full version at NASFAA, not my blog.
Four Times the Cost, Twice the Time: How replacing SAVE with RAP forces low-balance borrowers (~$12,000) into much longer repayment with slower forgiveness, shifting costs from taxpayers to borrowers.
From SAVE to RAP: Compares monthly payments and lifetime costs for a typical $35,000 undergraduate borrower, showing how RAP extends repayment and shifts risk toward borrowers with slower income growth.
Inflation and the RAP Trap: How inflation erodes borrower protections under RAP, increasing the effective burden on student debt over time.
Impact of Tax-Deferred Retirement Contributions: Explores how 401(k) and HSA contributions lower early RAP payments but extend repayment and increase total lifetime costs compared to Roth saving.
A 2028 Student Debt Proposal: Outlines a post-Biden, post-Trump framework for student loans centered on zero-interest repayment, IRS-administered restructuring, and the elimination of interest deductibility to reduce reliance on complex IDR programs.
Biden, Trump, and a Centrist Approach to Student Debt: Biden expanded income-driven repayment to boost affordability, Trump’s RAP plan tightened and prolonged repayment, and a centrist fix would pair early relief with long-term predictability and fiscal balance.
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