Poll: Majority back blanket student loan forgiveness

Fifty-two percent of Americans said that they are in favor of blanket student loan forgiveness “for all borrowers,” according to a new Go Banking Rates poll released Thursday.

Twelve percent of respondents in the poll said they believe student loan forgiveness should be granted for those with low income and high debt, 11 percent said those in public service should be forgiven of their loans and 4 percent saying they support temporary loan forgiveness through the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Approximately 20 percent those responding don’t think the federal government should undertake student loan forgiveness.

Majorities of men and women and most age groups support blanket student loan forgiveness, though the position only has support among 39 percent of those older than 65. Thirty-six percent of older respondents say the government should steer clear of the issue of student loans.

President Biden has said that he will support a move by Congress to cancel up to $10,000 per student loan borrower, though he has so far rejected progressive calls to take more sweeping actions on student debt.

The poll was conducted from April 16 to May 18 with collected responses from 3,633 people. It did not list a margin of error.