The deadly cost of student debt

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     May 24, 2023 Hi, I'm Hannah Levintova, a reporter at Mother Jones. I focus on stories about money, business, and corporate accountability. About a year ago, while reporting for a different article, I heard about a woman named Jessica Madison whose story I couldn’t shake. Back in 2009, Jessica graduated from a paralegal program at Everest College in Florida with $21,000 in loans. Her school was part of an empire run by the billion-dollar Corinthian Colleges chain, which had long targeted single parents and other low-income students like Jessica who saw college as the key to building a more stable life. She’d spent the next three years searching for a full-time job that never materialized, while struggling to pay bills and sometimes going without power to make loan payments. In 2015, she joined a group of 15 Corinthian alums in kicking off the nation’s first-ever debt strike. They publicly refused to make their crushing loan payments to try to pressure the government to erase their debts. Their efforts made national news and helped convince the Education Department to wipe out billions in debt for borrowers who’d been defrauded by for-profit colleges. Their campaign also laid groundwork for the idea of student debt cancellation for all, turning this once-fringe idea into a national reality: Last August, the Biden administration announced up to $10,000 of debt cancellation for student borrowers below a certain income limit, and double that amount for students from the poorest backgrounds. This success was catalyzed by Jessica. But she never got to see it. As Jessica poured herself into this movement, her own loans haunted her: Debt collectors seized part of her paychecks, and the Education Department denied her pleas for help. She was so consumed with making her debt go away, working longer hours and skimping on doctor appointments, that she missed the cancer that would ultimately kill her. Now the relief that might have saved her is before the Supreme Court, which must rule by summer whether to uphold Biden’s plan, thanks to two cases brought by right-wing groups trying to gut it. In the meantime, about 40 million student debtors are faced with the same anxious wait for relief that Jessica lived through. The arc of how this debt transformed her life [is a cautionary tale]( of the impact of revoking the relief that millions have fought and waited for, hoping, like Jessica, for a gentler path forward. —Hannah Levintova Advertisement [UC Press - Darity]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Death by Debt]( Jessica Madison was a pioneer of the student loan cancellation movement. The relief that could've saved her is now in the hands of the Supreme Court. BY HANNAH LEVINTOVA FROM THE MOTHER JONES STORE   Mother Jones Store T-shirts, books, back issues, and new merchandise! Go to the official Mother Jones Store and show your support beyond the pages. [Check us out!]( [Trending] [Donald Trump can't keep his mouth shut. It's getting him in trouble.]( BY RUSS CHOMA   [As ocean oxygen levels dip, fish face an uncertain future]( BY NICOLA JONES   [Western states pull Colorado River deal out of the hat]( BY JAKE BITTLE   [Meet the religious crusaders fighting for abortion rights]( BY ABBY VESOULIS Advertisement [UC Press - Darity]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [DeSantis’ policies are terrible for moms. He convinced them otherwise.]( Fear triumphed over facts. BY KIERA BUTLER [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755