Progressives and conservatives alike are sounding off about President Joe Biden’s planto erase billions of dollars in student debt — that it’s either a half-a-loaf gesture to an overburdened middle class or a massive socialist handout to rich people, depending on your politics.
But whatever your opinion is on Biden’s motives, a couple of things seem clear. First: Relieving up to $20,000 in student debt per borrower is a financial tourniquet that will help 43 million people who’ve been swept into a complex and undeniably broken system. Second: It doesn’t even begin to solve the problem.
Once the debt is wiped away, what we’re left with is the gnarly reality that tuition costs are out of control, with no magic bullet to rein them in.