Politics Have Little Impact on Student Views of Debt

(RightWing.org) – On April 8, the White House announced the administration’s latest plan to cancel student loans. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona traveled to swing states to discuss the new debt relief effort. Republicans quickly responded by accusing Team Biden of attempting to buy votes. However, a recent report indicates that GOP candidates could benefit from taking a similar position.

Axios recently released the results of a survey conducted in collaboration with Harris Polls. The study showed that students’ political views had little impact on their views related to educational debt.

As it turned out, a huge majority of students from both parties said the government should do more to help them repay their school loans. A whopping 89% of Democrats and 81% of Republicans supported governmental debt repayment relief efforts.

The poll revealed a stark contrast with the general population. The number of Democrats supporting government-based help repaying loans dropped to 76%. However, only 47% of Republicans said they agreed. Sixty-two percent of independents said the government should do more to help.

Participant’s racial background also played a significant role in the survey. For instance, only 57% of White Americans said the government should help students repay their loans, while 76% of “Americans of color” said they supported government-based assistance.

Although the survey revealed those differences, most participants agreed when asked about the government’s future role. Eighty percent of the participants said they favored the government providing educational loans at a zero or near zero interest rate.

The study also asked students about their concerns regarding the long-term impact of their educational loans. Sixty-nine percent said they thought it was worth spending the time and money to get a college education in terms of future earnings potential, while 31% said the opposite.

The Harris Poll surveyed a representative sample of 4,168 adults with 643 of them currently enrolled in a higher education program. The result fell within an error margin of +/- 2% with a 95% confidence level.