Biden Buying a Few Votes?

 

Opinion by:  E. Eugene Webb PhD

There is no doubt that the continuing student loan debt situation is a drag on everything from careers to the economy.

This week, the Biden administration announced and additional student loan debt relief program. You can see the official announcement at: US Department of Education: Biden-Harris Administration Approves Additional $5.8 Billion in Student Debt Relief for 78,000 Public Service Workers.

Below, there's a chart from the SAVE program with some additional information on how loan forgiveness works. There there's a link in the chart to the full explanation. 

Source: FACT SHEET: President Biden Cancels Student Debt for more than 150,000 Student Loan Borrowers Ahead of Schedule

The relief provided in this latest announcement by the Biden administration is both appropriate and well deserved.

One cannot help but note the timing of this announcement and the nature of the announcement addressing public service workers and the age requirement for the recipients.

It targets a group that are very much potential voters in the upcoming presidential election. Given the large number of people affected and the impact it will have on their lives it would be easy to overlook the political strategy involved in the announcement at this time.

Good government and good politics?

It's hard to say, but the incumbency power of the president is certainly on display in this situation.

But it is a clear indication that both sides of this presidential election are willing to use any and all of the tools available to them to pursue the presidency.

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