Student Loan Relief Seen Costing Billions and Favoring Top Earners

  • Penn Wharton estimate models cost of various loan forgiveness
  • Biden could announce debt relief plans as soon as this week
Is Biden going to do anything about student loans?
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Forgiving student loan debt will cost between $300 billion and $980 billion over 10 years, according to a new analysis, with the majority of relief going toward borrowers in the top 60% of earners.

The Penn Wharton Budget Model was released Tuesday ahead of President Joe Biden’s long-anticipated decision as soon as this week on whether to forgive some student loan debt. White House officials have been trying to combat critiques that such a move would add to rampant inflation that’s become a political liability for Biden and his fellow Democrats.