Biden seen as trying to have it both ways on economy

BIDEN AIMS TO ENERGIZE YOUNG VOTERS WITH STUDENT LOAN PAUSE

“Every chance he gets, Biden brags about record job growth and record GDP growth — knowing this is merely a function of the economy getting back on its feet after the pandemic.” said Alfredo Ortiz, president and CEO of the conservative advocacy group Job Creators Network. “But when it comes to advancing liberal policy, Biden suddenly claims that America is in distress.”

Inflation is causing a lot of pain but is a direct result of Biden’s spending spree, Ortiz says, and policies such as extending the student loan moratorium aren’t going to help.

Upon announcing the loan pause extension, Biden touted progress but said the economy was still recovering.

“As I recognized in recently extending the COVID-19 national emergency, we are still recovering from the pandemic and the unprecedented economic disruption it caused,” he said in a prepared statement. “If loan payments were to resume on schedule in May, analysis of recent data from the Federal Reserve suggests that millions of student loan borrowers would face significant economic hardship, and delinquencies and defaults could threaten Americans’ financial stability.”

Less than 24 hours later, Biden issued another statement lauding low unemployment, insisting that “America is back to work” and highlighting how “today’s data demonstrate that America is on the move again, and the economy is uniquely well positioned to overcome the global challenges brought on by the pandemic and Putin’s war of choice.”

White House officials have boasted that Biden is the only president in history under which no one has been required to pay back student loan debt.

The pause affects 41 million borrowers who collectively hold more than $1.3 trillion in total debt and has already cost taxpayers more than $100 billion, according to Education Department estimates.

But the president’s two statements aren’t in conflict with each other, argues Center for American Progress senior fellow David Madland.

“We can have a strong labor market right now and many people can still be struggling with big debt loads,” he said. “It takes time to pay down debt and get yourself on solid financial footing.”

When should the pause end? Madland said additional months of a strong labor market will help, but he’d also like to see some measure of student debt cancellation first, particularly if it can be means-tested so only those struggling the most with unmanageable debt can benefit.

Biden made a campaign promise to have taxpayers absorb at least $10,000 per person of student loan debt. However, since taking office, he has said he’d support the move if Congress approves it first.

Though such a move hasn’t materialized, many Democrats are calling for the pause to last at least through the end of 2022, which would push the date past the midterm elections. A group of nearly 100 Democratic lawmakers, including heavy hitters like Sens. Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren, signed a letter last week asking for such a move.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

But some economists say it’s time to lift the pause, arguing it contributes to inflation and mostly benefits high earners.

“It made sense when we were in the depths of the pandemic and we didn’t know who would be able to pay what back and what people’s expenses would be,” the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget’s Marc Goldwein said earlier this week.

He pointed out that unemployment among people with bachelor’s degrees is at a 20-year low.

“It’s not clear to me that it’ll be any easier in August than it is today,” Goldwein said. “The situation is about as good as it’s going to get.”