MCDANIEL: Biden’s Student Loan Bailout Abandons Hardworking Americans

MCDANIEL: Biden’s Student Loan Bailout Abandons Hardworking Americans

Ronna McDaniel on August 27, 2022

On Wednesday, Biden turned his back on working Americans, insulted their hard work, and told them to eat cake. He announced plans to cancel up to $10,000 of student debt per borrower – a move that will bail out the wealthy, worsen inflation and line the pockets of Democrats and their staffs, all at the expense of working-class Americans.

This has been a dream of elitist Democrats for some time. It’s no coincidence that nearly two-thirds of all student debt is owed by the top 40% of households. But right now it reeks of political posturing headed into what will be an extremely tough season for Democrats in Congress. Democrats have done such a bad job over the past year-and-a-half that now, according to Gallup, American “suffering” is at its highest since 2008.

The truth is canceling student debt is an insult to so many, including Americans who either did not go to college to avoid debt or worked multiple jobs to get through college. It is also a slap in the face to the countless parents who made sacrifices to put their kids through college.

The economic implications of Biden’s bailout are atrocious. Simply extending the pause on student loan repayments through the end of the year will cost taxpayers an additional $20 billion and worsen inflation. But Biden’s plan to cancel $10,000 in student debt per person balloons this cost to $526 billion in 2022 alone, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model. Also, with inflation at a 40-year high already, experts warn it would immediately increase inflation and “create additional inflationary pressure over time.”

Can Americans struggling to make ends meet in Biden’s failed economy really afford that?

Even liberal experts — the very same ones who warned Democrats’ $1.9 trillion “stimulus” last year would fuel inflation — warn that canceling student debt is economic malpractice. Former Obama and Clinton economic adviser Larry Summers said canceling student debt is “highly problematic,” “highly regressive,” and likely to contribute to “inflation pressures.” Former top Obama economic adviser Jason Furman said Biden’s student loan bailout is akin to pouring “gasoline on the inflationary fire.”

They’re right. Amazingly, Democrats who want the federal government to cancel student loans are ignoring the fact that it will raise tuition and potentially hurt those at the lowest rungs. For many low-income borrowers, $10,000 debt cancellation would have “zero impact on their monthly student loan payments.”

At the same time, canceling student debt is a handout to the wealthy — something that should ultimately seal Democrats’ fate in November and beyond. According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a majority of the benefits would go to households in the top 60% of earners. Democrats’ student loan policies would also “disproportionately benefit students who go to ‘elite’ private colleges.”

Let’s not forget that Biden and Democrats consistently say that the rich must “step up and pay” their “fair share.” Clearly, that’s a lie. Canceling student debt would worsen economic inequality.

This not only undermines Democrats’ credibility on anything they say about supposedly lifting up working class Americans. It also shows how corrupt they are. Far-left Democrats in Congress who support student debt cancellation, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar would all benefit if Biden cancels student debt. Same with at least 200 of Biden’s aides with student loan debt.

The final straw is that Biden’s plan is a “one-time mechanism” that fails to address the root problem of the high cost of education. He may think that he is earning Democrats’ votes — especially among younger Americans — by canceling debt for millions. The truth is, Democrats will have little to hang their hats on headed into November, with real wages down, gas prices sky-high, and families anxious about their finances.

Americans are smarter than Democrats think they are. Already, a CNBC survey found that 59% of Americans worry that student loan forgiveness would worsen inflation. And only 38% of young Americans support canceling student loan debt.

If there was any doubt that Biden and Democrats are the Party of rich elites, let that rest. Biden’s student loan bailout is proof positive. They’re corrupt, liars and deserve to be voted out in November.

Ronna McDaniel is the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.