by Harold Hutchison
Some economists believe President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive student debt could cause the cost of a college education to climb, according to Fox Business Network.
Biden announced that those earning up to $125,000 a year would have $10,000 in student debt forgiven, with Pell Grant recipients having up to $20,000 forgiven, Fox Business Network reported.
“Students will likely feel liberated to borrow more money on the assumption of future loan forgiveness, and universities will take advantage of the additional borrowing by raising tuition,” Brian Riedl of the Manhattan Institute told Fox Business Network. “This is pretty similar to the fact that historically, 60% of all student aid increases have been captured with tuition hikes, and this will be treated like an increase in student aid moving forward, which suggests that 60% will be countered by tuition hikes.”
Research by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicated that tuition went up 60% for subsidized loans and 15% for unsubsidized loans.
Student loan debt relief is spending that raises demand and increases inflation. It consumes resources that could be better used helping those who did not, for whatever reason, have the chance to attend college. It will also tend to be inflationary by raising tuitions.
— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) August 22, 2022
Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers also said forgiving student loan debt could increase tuition and inflation in a thread of posts on Twitter Sunday.
“Student loan debt relief is spending that raises demand and increases inflation,” Summers posted. “It consumes resources that could be better used helping those who did not, for whatever reason, have the chance to attend college. It will also tend to be inflationary by raising tuitions.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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Harold Hutchison is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
