On NPR this morning they had this jackass from the American Center for Progress on the show, and the host asked him this very question about fairness.
His answer was the most ridiculous word salad I've ever heard.
MARTIN: Right. And we're going to talk about that. But is there a way to do debt forgiveness fairly? Because a lot of people will point out the fact that they have paid their student loans back in full after working and sacrificing. How does the administration walk that line?
BASS: You know, I think you have to walk that line just looking at, you know, just the existing programs already. So we have public service loan forgiveness. We have income-driven repayment, which are both repayment options that promise debt forgiveness or debt cancellation already within the higher education system. Unfortunately, you know, the Government Accountability Office and other government watchdogs have found that those programs have not been working. So in another sense, you know, there's a question of fairness to borrowers who were hoping to rely on those programs in order to see some debt relief. Those programs have not worked. So debt cancellation, especially one that's broad based, could be seen as, you know, making good on government's promise to those borrowers as well. So there's an issue of fairness on that side.