Please note!

This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Will canceling student debt help close the racial wealth gap?

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

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YES

Student debt cancellation would decrease the debts of Black and Latino borrowers and thus modestly shrink the racial wealth gap, according to the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank.

Students of color typically borrow more for higher education than white students while holding significantly less wealth. As a result, canceling student debt would lessen the burden of those least able to repay it, easing the racial disparity in wealth.

Brookings similarly affirms the value of canceling student debt to shrink the racial wealth gap, noting that it will enable people of color to create wealth by freeing them up to buy a home or start a business. However, it offers the caveat that student debt cancellation alone will not achieve full equity in racial wealth, citing the need to address "anti-Black policies across multiple sectors [that] have diminished wealth-building opportunities."

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Roosevelt Institute How canceling student debt would bolster the economic recovery and reduce the racial wealth gap

Brookings Student loans, the racial wealth divide, and why we need full student debt cancellation

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.