A Four Decade Long Debt Receipt

Americans aged 62 and older are the fastest-growing demographic of student borrowers. In July, Journalist Eleni Schirmer’s New Yorker article “The Aging Student Debtors of America,” featured the story of Betty Anne, a 91 year old woman with $330,000 in student loans – and Justice Democrats’ Lead Video Producer Jeremy Flood’s grandmother. In this episode, Jeremy and Eleni unpack the impact of Eleni’s reporting and what it’s meant to Betty Anne’s family to hold this debt throughout her life. We also get an exciting update on her loans. Then, we invite the Debt Collective co-founder Astra Taylor back on the pod to celebrate the Biden administration’s cancellation of $10-$20k of student debt, and update us on the Collective’s next moves. How did organizers push the establishment towards this cancellation? And what does this mean for the future of debt cancellation in this country? Links: “The Aging Student Debtors of America” (https://www.newyorker.com/news/us-journal/the-aging-student-debtors-of-america/amp) Previous Bloc Party x Debt Collective Episode from 2021 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-em-pay-put-em-in-debt-theyll-quiet-down/id1540532726?i=1000513846787] Our Bloc Doc with Astra Taylor [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvs3-CpxVo0] Producers: Jeremy Flood, Sophie Capp, Emma Dessau Editor: Sophie Capp Mixing/Mastering: Rocky Russo