President Joe Biden’s quiet admission that the full cost of his student debt cancellation scheme will be included in the 2022 fiscal year budget-and that it will be and financed entirely by debt-is a reckless budgetary gimmick and a “great error,” according to economists from across the political spectrum.
A senior Biden administration official told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that the loan forgiveness program-which the White House estimates will cost $379 billion, but could be more depending on the number of eligible people who apply for the relief-will be added to the 2022 fiscal year budget without any payment mechanism.
“My cynical answer is they did it this way so next year they can say the deficit is lower,” economist Marc Goldwein of the center-left Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget told the Washington Free Beacon. “If instead they put it in the 2023 fiscal year, it would look more obvious that they’re increasing the deficit.” Read more…
