Student loan payments are like a money vacuum, sucking up peoples’ paychecks and keeping them from making new purchases.
In an effort to keep that cash in their wallets, locals have joined more than 360,000 former students nationwide and signed a petition to try to stamp out unpaid loans.
“Forgiving the student loan debt of all Americans will have an immediate stimulative effect on our economy,” reads the petition urging the president and U.S. lawmakers to relieve them of their debt.
In exchange, petitioners have vowed to toss their money back into the economy by buying cars, houses and paying off other excess debt.
But Peter Ubertaccio, director of the Martin Institute at Stonehill College, said legislators would balk at the proposal, even if it had a chance to reach Congress with serious consideration.
“Flat out forgiveness is just not likely. The complexities are so vast given the number of borrowers and prospective borrowers,” he said. “I don’t think there is any chance at all something like this becomes law.”
Ubertaccio, an analyst who writes for a Massachusetts political blog, said even he would put money back into the economy if he didn’t have outstanding student debt, but the chances of transforming this into law are low.
“I don’t think it would have the stimulative effect that its proponents would like to see,” he said.
Follow Steve Annear on Twitter @steveannear.
