Someone I know online posted a meme:
"Congratulations to everyone who managed to avoid having student debt. Now you do."
This pissed me off, and I've been trying to hunt down a decent argument to refute the idea. Folks, please correct my numbers so I can post an intelligent argument.
The current student debt relief package announced by President Biden will cost about $7.4 Billion (U.S. Department of Education press release).
That's a chunk of change, but compare it to industrial subsidies and tax relief. Last years subsidies to the fossil fuel industry (Oil, gas, and coal) topped $7 trillion, or roughly one thousand times as much (IMF Blog). Could they do with 0.1% less in subsidies? Would they even notice the difference?
Consider the impact of that $7.4 billion:
In the form of subsidies for industry, that would feather the pockets of perhaps as many as a few dozen CEOs and shareholders. Assuming they buy domestically, that might contribute to the employment of 50 or 100 employees at yacht manufacturing facility. That could enable some banks in the Cayman Islands to hire one or maybe even two more account representatives. That'd certainly add one or two orders per year to some high-end catering companies.
If applied in the form of student debt relief, it would help approximately 277,000 people participate in the economy years or even decades sooner. If they can buy houses sooner, that means jobs for people building and renovating homes. If they can buy new cars sooner, automotive production has to respond. The point is they'll spend the money, not on a few luxury goods and private equity funds, but on the goods and services produced by the bulk of the people participating in the economy.
So unless you work for one of the few yacht manufacturers in the US, it behooves you to support student debt relief.