Students Are Refusing To Pay Back Their Loans After Supreme Court Ruling

There are calls on social media for graduates to refuse repayment on their student loans after the Supreme Court struck down President Biden's debt relief scheme on Friday.

One commentator claimed graduates were "scammed" and urged them to "collectively refuse to pay the student loans," whilst another said "millions" of graduates should refuse to pay their debts.

The Supreme Court sided with a number of Republican-controlled states, which argued Biden had exceeded his authority with his student loan forgiveness scheme, in a 6-3 decision. Biden hit out at the ruling as "wrong," and said: "The fight is not over."

Had Biden's plan gone ahead, most graduate borrowers would have seen their debt cut by up to $10,000, though some students from low-income households would have seen a reduction of $20,000.

Graduates will be required to resume making student debt repayments in October following a hiatus of more than three years, introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic, with interest accumulating again from September 1. This would have happened regardless of the Supreme Court's verdict on Friday, but its decision means millions of graduates will no longer get the loan deduction.

Federal Reserve data indicates graduates were typically paying $200-299 a month before the repayment pause came into effect in 2020.

A number of social media users responded to the Supreme Court's decision by urging graduates not to repay their loans, though there is no sign of an organized campaign to this end.

After the ruling, social media user Krista, who says she has a PhD in social psychology, tweeted: "Maybe if we all refuse to pay the students loans back collectively they'll get the point."

A second Twitter user commented: "Students should refuse to pay back their loans by the millions. We need to start a revolution against those who are fleecing us financially, especially when they are trying to uneducate young people so they can continue to control them."

A third user, from Florida, posted: "The best way to handle the #StudentDebt is for those who fell into the trap to collectively refuse to pay the student loans, since they obviously got scammed. But people would rather big daddy government fix the problem for them, by making it somebody else's problem. It's pathetic.

"If a sizable majority of debtors refused to pay, what would the robber barons and their lackeys in DC be able to do at that point? Such collective action would bring all of these scam artists to their knees."

Another commented: "I will not now, nor will I ever, pay off my student loans. I appreciate the effort though!!!!!"

Shortly before the court's verdict was announced, one Twitter account wrote: "I already know what the student loan decision will be and I'm just not gonna pay? I'm already so far from owning a home what else do I need credit for? F****** f***."

Newsweek has contacted the Department of Education for comment by phone.