City Council calls on federal government to cancel student loan debt

The resolution states that “canceling student loan debt and eliminating debt in higher education represents an enormous economic opportunity for Boston to create better jobs, increase spending in our local communities, support upward social mobility for individuals, and provide a deeply needed stimulus during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”



While student debt is a burden experienced by a wide variety of people, including both young adult and older residents, it disproportionately impacts low-income, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Islander, and other communities of color.



The resolution further states that “the abolition of student debt also represents an incredible moral opportunity for Boston to support residents, address racial and gender wage gaps, and provide better overall health outcomes to the general population since debt is associated with negative mental and physical health outcomes, like stress, depression, general health, obesity and mortality.”



Canceling student debt is a policy that is strongly supported across the country, with President Biden having publicly expressed interest in some form of student debt cancellation.