The burden of heavy debt
NYers deserve permanent subsidies for
COURIER LIFE, D 28 ECEMBER 10-16, 2021
EDITORIAL
OP-ED
Before COVID-19 hit New
York in March 2020, so
many college graduates
were already having a diffi -
cult time making ends meet because
of their massive monthly
student loan payments.
But after the pandemic
struck and caused all kinds of
new economic calamity, the
federal government gave these
graduates and others across
America. All student loan payments
were suspended indefi -
nitely, lifting one less burden
off the backs of millions of people
struggling to survive.
The pandemic pause on student
loan payments has been
extended several times since
the spring of 2020, but it’s set
to expire on Feb. 1, 2022. When
that happens, the great forbearance
ends — and all of these
borrowers must resume paying
hundreds of dollars a month to
pay off their student loans.
For New York borrowers,
that’s a huge chunk of their income
— an average of $393 per
month. Statewide, more than
2.4 million residents owe $91.6
billion in student loan debt. By
comparison, that’s just $11.2
billion less than the entire city
budget for the current fi scal
year, which is $102.8 billion.
How do we solve these problems?
Some want the Biden administration
to wave a magic
wand and cancel the debt entirely.
That would give millions
of people new buying power
to reinvest in their needs and
the economy, rather than just
spending their hard-earned
money on debt payments.
Yet merely cancelling student
debt doesn’t solve the longer
term problem of reducing
the costs of a higher ed, nor does
it guarantee that future generations
of students won’t fall into
the hole themselves when they
borrow to go to college.
Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer wants the
Biden Administration to extend
the pandemic pause beyond
Feb. 1. That would be good
short-term news for debtors,
but it only kicks the can down
the road further.
The federal government and
individual states must fi nd a
way to tackle the student debt
crisis jointly. Through a combination
of debt forgiveness and
cost-control measures, a solution
can be found to make a college
education attainable for every
American without driving
them, or institutions of higher
learning, into massive debt.
Let’s lift the burden of heavy
debt off an entire generation of
Americans, while ensuring the
viability of college education
for generations to come.
BY RITA JOSEPH
New York has a rich history
of health care. Manhattan’s
Bellevue Hospital is considered
to be the oldest public hospital
in the country. In my neighborhood,
Kings County Hospital
has been serving patients
since 1831. But we can’t let this
years-long tradition of care go
to waste as Congress makes urgent
decisions about access to
health care in next year’s budget
and Omicron variants are
on-the-rise.
All our health facilities
have been stretched during
the COVID-19 pandemic. Our
healthcare heroes, including
the hardworking and courageous
members of 1199 SEIU
and NYSNA, have sacrifi ced
so much. So many of our neighbors
have needed care. This
long health scare has proven
that for any New Yorker, access
to meaningful health care is a
vital priority. Without it, families
are unable to get the care
they need, and communities
suffer.
When Congress passed the
American Rescue Plan Act
(ARPA) earlier this year, it extended
a critical federal program
that helps our city’s vulnerable
populations pay for
health insurance. Tax credits
in this program help millions
of Americans afford this insurance
on the federal marketplace—
but this relief is not
guaranteed.
These expanded subsidies
are set to expire and are among
the many programs Congress
is considering during budget
reconciliation. It’s an arcane
process with monumental ramifi
cations.
Here’s why: the decision
about health care subsidies has
a dramatic impact on families
across the state. Over the summer,
the state announced more
than 6 million total New Yorkers
were enrolled in marketplace
coverage — and that as
many as 150,000 state residents
were expected to receive tax
credits. Last year, more than
$550 million in tax credits went
to marketplace enrollees in the
state.
If subsidies are allowed to
expire, premium payments
could double for far too many.
Like many of the issues regarding
healthcare and inequality,
this also harms Black, brown,
and marginalized communities
the most. Put another way:
if these subsidies are not made
permanent or extended, 174,900
uninsured New Yorkers could
lose out on the opportunity to
help to pay for affordable coverage,
many of those are going to
be Black and Brown New Yorkers,
disproportionately at risk
of suffering from COVID and
its many lethal variants.
It’s not much of a decision for
Congress in my view. Make the
subsidies permanent or leave
millions in the lurch who won’t
be able to afford care.
When I started out as a community
activist at 19 years
old, fi ghting a racist rule that
banned Haitian-American people
from donating blood, I was
taught how to get people’s attention
quickly. It’s diffi cult
to engineer change without it,
and I learned that the most convincing
argument about any
cause is also the same for every
cause: people are our greatest
resource, and people are worth
fi ghting for.
We have fought for so much
here in Brooklyn and across
our state: increased diversity in
key leadership positions, more
rights for the underserved, and
housing for our neighbors in
need.
Along the way, we’ve helped
our communities thrive.
Throughout Flatbush, I hear
people stopping in a bodega for
coffee; children have returned
to in-person school; teams play
basketball during the afternoon
at the Parade Grounds nearby.
These people are Brooklyn’s
greatest resource — and these
are the people who are worth
fi ghting for.
The latest COVID-19 fi gures
show New York City still has
around 1,000 confi rmed daily
cases. During the worst of the
COVID crisis, most of the ICU
beds not only in Central Brooklyn
but across New York were
at capacity. As the pandemic
drags on, our communities continue
to need care for a variety
of other health conditions.
Accessible, affordable health
insurance is and will remain
an essential need for the people
of our city and state. Congress
must not ignore this need —
and commit once and for all to
the one federal program that
helps so many with care.
We know Majority Leader
Schumer believes in people and
a thriving New York Community,
because he’s a progressive
leader with a history of successfully
fi ghting for everyday New
Yorkers. He’s shown courage
and leadership to pass legislation
that helps families in our
city, in our state, and across
the country. We ask him now
to continue the fi ght—and convince
his colleagues in the Senate
to make these vital health
care subsidies permanent in
the budget so our communities
can continue to thrive.
Rita Joseph is the Councilmember
elect for City Council
District 40 in Brooklyn and
a teacher at PS 6 Norma Adams
Clemons Academy.
working families’ healthcare
Treating obesity is, without a doubt, an issue of health equity for
underserved communities, and the need to address it is only accelerating.