The Biden administration’s recent Corinthian Colleges loan discharge announcement — which wiped away $5.8 billion in debt for half a million students who were scammed by the defunct for-profit giant — is exactly the type of student loan cancellation the government is supposed to undertake. It is well-targeted, fiscally responsible and legally sound.
That stands in stark contrast to another announcement some expect the administration to make this summer — sweeping debt cancellation that would be overly broad, fiscally reckless, legally dubious and hard if not impossible to implement. The White House is reportedly seeking measures that would not require congressional approval to forgive $10,000 in student debt per borrower.
The landmark Corinthian loan forgiveness came through the borrower defense to repayment rule, a policy that allows for the clearing of federal debt for students cheated by predatory colleges. Over two decades in operation, Corinthian preyed on vulnerable Americans, lying about future job prospects to get them in the door with as many federally backed student loan dollars as possible, only to slam it behind them when the last of its 100 campuses was shuttered in 2015 amid scandals, lawsuits and fines.
Those at the helm of Corinthian weren’t the only scam artists playing roulette with students’ futures and taxpayer funds to apparently pad the pockets of executives and shareholders, just among the largest and most…
