Commentary
President Joe Biden’s approval ratings have sunk. Several Democratic strategists have suggested that they will lift if the president fulfills his campaign promise to forgive student debt or at least a part of it.
Their suggestion has brought the matter to the forefront of public debate. Aside from expense issues, much of the argument has centered on questions of fairness.
Economics has a contribution to make here. It can show that debt cancellation would be far from fair on many levels, including the fundamental inequity built into the college debt system. Forgiveness would anger as many as it pleases, perhaps more. The issue also reveals how little America’s elite thinks about anyone other than its friends and neighbors….