Hot damn: Biden rolls out Medicare and student debt proposals

[meadowlander]

82. Cancelling all existing student debt would essentially pay for itself over 10-15 years

in macro-economic benefits.

http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/rpr_2_6.pdf

"The policy of debt cancellation (of the current $1.4 trillion in student debt) could boost real GDP by an average of $86 billion to $108 billion per year. Over the 10-year forecast, the policy generates between $861 billion and $1,083 billion in real GDP (2016 dollars).

Eliminating student debt reduces the average unemployment rate by 0.22 to 0.36 percentage points over the 10-year forecast.

Peak job creation in the first few years following the elimination of student loan debt adds roughly 1.2 million to 1.5 million new jobs per year.

Research suggests many other positive spillover effects that are not accounted for in these simulations, including increases in small business formation, degree attainment, and household formation, as well as improved access to credit and reduced household vulnerability to business cycle downturns. Thus, our results provide a conservative estimate of the macro effects of student debt liberation."

For some reason there is always money for wars and tax cuts for billionaires. Why start from the proposition that we "have a limited sum" to address the crippling effects of student debt over the lifetime earning potential and quality of life of millions of Americans?

The policy should be analysed against the dollar returned for dollar spent and then compared across a number of other possible programmes. We should be investing in things like food stamps and student loan reduction that grow the economy, increase the economic resilience of the poor and middle classes.