The president thinks he can "forgive" student loan debt. The US Constitution appears to say otherwise:
Article 1, Section 9
7. No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
Article 1, Section 10
1. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
One can argue around these clauses or propose other ways to "forgive" debt, but I think the real target here is the GOP. Anyone in the GOP who attacks Biden's action will be labeled as a hater of the poor students, adding to the possibility Democrats will retain control of Congress, or even increase their majority in both houses.
Meanwhile, we're failing to deal with at least two major problems:
- we can ill afford more federal debt, and
- degrees which don't lead to well paying jobs are of little value.
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