In a piece responding to the U.S. Supreme Court killing President Joe Biden’s student loan handout, the New York Times reminded readers there were other ways they could still cancel their debt, one of them involving death.
Among six methods the outlet included to get rid of student loan debt, such as signing up for student loan forgiveness and filing for bankruptcy, the outlet noted that debt "dies with the person or people who take it on."
This option was given for students worried that the debt their loved ones took out for their schooling would pass on to them if those loved ones died. The paper assured them it wouldn’t.
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The Times published the article shortly after the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s student loan handout on Friday. The handout, which he proposed last year, sought to cancel up to $10,000 in federal loans per borrower making less than $125,000 a year, and up to $20,000 per borrower for those who used Pell Grants in college.
Critics claimed Biden’s plan would have cost over $400 billion and was unfair to those who paid their loans or never took on debt.
New York Times columnist Ron Lieber’s piece on Friday showed sympathy for the "enormous disappointment" felt by people not getting their loans forgiven after the ruling and offered alternative "ways to get your student debt wiped away."
Lieber noted there are still several "escape hatch" "ways to eliminate your federal student loan balance aside from paying in full." He advised, "If you know someone who is struggling with student loan debt, suggest that the borrower review every last option."
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Lieber mentioned "Income-Driven Repayment," "Public Service Loan Forgiveness," "Closed or low-performing schools," "Bankruptcy Discharge," and "Disability Discharge," before getting to the final option, "Death."
At least, that's what it said before public outcry on Twitter.
MSNBC columnist Katelyn Burns highlighted the article's headline, "Ways You Can Still Cancel Your Federal Student Loan Debt," and the "Death" subsection, tweeting, "NYT what the f--- are you doing bro."
The piece was subsequently edited with the subtitle "Death" changed to "Debt Won't Carry On," and the opening line of the section, "This is not something that most people would choose as a solution to their debt burden," removed.
Brooke Binkowski, managing editor of Truth or Fiction, noted the change less than an hour later, saying, "Nice stealth edit they did too. This is really, really gross."
The rest of the section was kept intact, except for the removal of "Still" from the beginning of this sentence: "If you’re a young adult wondering about the federal PLUS loans your relatives took out to pay for your education, you may be wondering whether the debt dies with the person or people who take it on."
Lieber concluded, "It does. The federal government will not make a claim on their estate, and you will not inherit the balance."
