If President Joe Biden actually forgives massive student loan debt for thousands of college graduates, it is obvious that the big winners will be those saddled by college debt, but here is a list of just some of the groups who will be the biggest losers if college debt forgiveness comes to fruition.
Taxpayers Who Eat $1.6 Trillion:
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis announced this April that college loan borrowers owe a collective $1.75 trillion in debt to lending institutions. Some of that is private loans, but $1.6 trillion of it is in federal loans. If Biden “forgives,” that debt, the debt does not just disappear. It will be transferred to the American taxpayer. Your hard-earned money — assuming you pay a federal income tax — will be used to pay that debt down.
People Who Didn’t Go To College But Whose Taxes Will Go Toward The Plan
According to the informational website savingforcollege.com, “the highest-income 40% of households (those with incomes above $74,000) owe almost 60% of student loan debt.”
Many Americans have opted to not attend college because they could not afford the high cost. Thousands chose instead to go trade schools and learn valuable skills such as plumbing or welding.
Consider that the average plumber made $56,330 in 2020, less than what the top 60% of student debt holders made. If student debt is wiped out for those millions of individuals, the hardworking blue-collar employee will see his or her taxes go toward paying off the debt of a liberal arts degree who majored in Gender Studies.
Americans Who Just Paid Off All Or Portions Of Their Loans
Of course, there are those who went to college, worked their derriere off after they graduated, were financially responsible, and paid off their loans. Maybe other Americans used inheritance money or other means to pay off their debt.
Regardless of how they did it, they kept up their end of the bargain by working toward paying back what they owed completely, and most likely will not see a penny from Biden’s loan forgiveness plan. The axiom that “no good deed goes unpunished” remains true, apparently.
People Who Enroll And Borrow Going Forward
The Biden administration has a penchant for changing policy without a follow-up plan in place to limit any fallout from changing course.
Consider how badly the Afghanistan debacle was handled and that the Democrats are planning on ending Title 42 without a clear plan in place, which experts believe will lead to a “tsunami” of illegal aliens at our border.
Now, think of students who are considering enrolling and need to take out student loans in the future. Based on the current student-loan structure, and a lack of something concrete to replace that system, there isn’t any real evidence that the student debt problem won’t repeat itself again — even if current loans are forgiven.
Thus, students who take out loans in the future will likely still be harmed by massive debt. Only those who have already taken out loans will benefit from Biden’s potential forgiveness of debt.
Colleges That Don’t Participate In Federal Loan Programs
There are some institutions that do not participate in the federal loan program. These are schools like Hillsdale College in Michigan and Christendom College in Virginia that want to be free from the shackles of big government.
Christendom’s website explains that the college does not accept federal loans so that “it is free to teach the Catholic Faith without government interference.”
If students need monetary assistance other than financial aid or scholarships, they must apply for loans from private lenders. Previous plans and proposed policies for loan forgiveness do not include private loans, meaning that private loans will not be dismissed because they were not backed by the federal government.
Undoubtedly, graduates of non-federal loan program colleges will wonder where their relief is going to come from.
It is reasonable to assume that future students considering taking out private loans to attend places like Hillsdale or elsewhere — while knowing a federal loan could possibly be forgiven down the line — might opt for the federally-backed institutions. Perhaps that is what Leftists want to happen.
Recently Naturalized Citizens
You can almost hear bachelor’s degree holders from sea to shining sea saying to newly naturalized citizens: “Welcome to America, now pay off my debt.” It’s not quite “The New Colossus” poem by Emma Lazarus, but hey, welcome to Biden’s America anyway. Now, pay your fair share.”
Why would it make sense for an immigrant who just became a tax-paying citizen to pay off loans taken out by somebody from 20 years ago?
The Buck Stops Where?
President Harry Truman used to have a sign on his desk that read, “The Buck Stops Here.” It represented the idea that he alone was responsible for actions taken by the federal government. Under that logic, Biden would also be responsible for any action taken by the feds during his presidency — good or bad.
So, is Biden considering forgiving student debt so that he can take credit and earn a political boost for the Democratic Party right before the 2022 elections? Polling indicates that the Democratic base desperately wants Biden to use his executive authority to forgive student loans.
According to some elected officials, the president was recently “incredibly positive” about broad cancellation in the future. If true, that might occur before the midterms in hopes of getting out the progressive vote.
Of course, Biden has never explained why it is the responsibility of the six aforementioned groups to pay off that debt.
“The buck,” many people believe, stops with the federal government for getting involved in college loans in the first place alongside those who actually borrowed the money — not the American taxpayer.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.