Some student loan borrowers refusing to pay out of protest
Breck Dumas
January 16, 2024
Borrowers ‘boycotting’ repayment aim to pressure government to cancel their debts
Millions of borrowers with existing student loans still have not made a payment since the bills resumed in October after a three-year hiatus, and some admit they are refusing to pay out of protest.
In an Intelligent.com survey conducted this month of 1,000 federal student loan borrowers, 25% said they had not made any payments at all, and 9% of those said they were holding off on paying their bills intentionally in an effort to pressure the government into canceling their debts.
Of the nearly 1 in 10 delinquent borrowers taking part in this “boycott” of student loan repayments, 44% said they believe their protest will lead to the cancellation of some federal student loan debt, and 28% think it is “likely” the boycott will convince the government to cancel all student loan debt, the survey found.
But even if no further debt cancellation comes from the boycott, most of the protesting borrowers believe their efforts will make an impact.
Eight-six percent told Intelligence.com it is “very” (45%) or “somewhat likely” (41%) that the boycott will draw attention to the student loan debt conversation. Sixty-four percent said they believe it is “highly” (32%) or “somewhat likely” (18%) that the boycott will help elect political candidates who believe in loan forgiveness.
