As student loan repayment deadline approaches; many wonder if the government will extend again

We are only two weeks away until the federal loan repayment pause expires - and millions of borrowers across the country are still in the dark as to whether that moratorium will continue.

President Biden has yet to make an announcement as to whether he will extend the pause that was enacted at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

But even Tuesday, the President cancelled almost 4 billion dollars in debt connected to the now defunct ITT Technical Institute.

Meanwhile, last month, Forbes magazine published some new numbers - calculating that there is more than $1.75 trillion dollars in student loan debt in this country, that's federal and private loans.

The average student owes about $29,000 in debt..

But with covid cases at manageable levels, and the federal unemployment rate back at a pre-pandemic level (3.5 % right now) --- should student loan borrowers be prepared to start making payments again??

For the first part of the show, we discuss the student loan debt situation.

Stick around, as later in the hour, we preview a couple events happening this weekend in Northeast Ohio -- the first being a new triathlon held in downtown Cleveland, and then finally - a look at this year's Porchrokr concert in Akron.

- Randy Gardner, Chancellor, Ohio Department of Higher Education
- Natalia Abrams, Executive Director, Student Debt Crisis Center
- Mark Brandt, Founder, "Tri Cle Rock Roll Run" triathlon
- Amanda Rabinowitz, Host, All Things Considered and "Shuffle"
- Brittany Nader, Producer, "Shuffle"