2022 in review: Issues avioded version
Will student loan forgiveness make inflation worse?
Forbes used a 25 August 2022 article to outline the ways that Biden’s student loan forgiveness program might have worsened inflation.
On August 24, President Joe Biden made the much-anticipated announcement of student loan forgiveness. Low- to middle-income borrowers will see as much as $20,000 erased from their federal loan balances in the coming months.
While the cancellation announcement comes as a victory for the Biden administration, there’s growing anxiety about how this could exacerbate an already bloated inflation rate. As high prices continue to stress wallets, nearly 3 out of 5 consumers say they worry that student loan forgiveness will worsen inflation.
But just how much the new loan forgiveness will affect inflation—and how its impact will make its way to consumers—is being debated by economists.
How Student Loan Forgiveness Could Affect Inflation
Americans collectively hold $1.75 trillion in student loan debt. In theory, less student debt to repay frees up cash that consumers could spend. This could increase demand and cause prices to jump. But economists remain divided over how much Biden’s plan will cause inflation to spike.
The few available estimates on Biden’s loan forgiveness program’s impact on inflation show a small impact, percentage-point wise, in the immediate future.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a nonprofit public policy organization, estimates that $10,000 of debt cancellation for borrowers making under $300,000 could add up to 15 basis points (0.15%) to the inflation rate “and create additional inflationary pressure over time.”
The CRFB’s estimate doesn’t factor in the income limits imposed by Biden’s newly released forgiveness plan. The relief targets individuals making less than $125,000 per year ($250,000 for those who file jointly).
“In the grand scheme of things, [the CRFB’s projection is] not that big of a deal. People aren’t going to notice,” says Patrick Gourley, associate professor of economics at the University of New Haven. “When you talk about even 10 basis points, that’s a tenth of a percent.”
Gourley adds that the forgiveness “isn’t going to generate large consumer spending,” which could be a factor to inflated prices.
This is because only 31% of borrowers would see their debt completely erased by Biden’s plan, according to a report from the New York Federal Reserve. That means the majority of borrowers will be again bound to monthly payments come January. Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, tweeted that the net factor of repayment and forgiveness combined “is largely a wash” on inflation.
Other economists have different takes. Jason Furman, professor of economics at Harvard and former economic advisor to President Barack Obama, described Biden’s student loan forgiveness program as reckless because people may expect debt forgiveness again in the future. He did add that the inflation impact will be “relatively small.”
(Read more at Forbes)
As anyone who has looked at the rising gasoline prices might know, Biden’s inflationary continues
With Biden still directing energy policy and with a Democrat Senate, we can count on inflation. With Buttigieg available for paternity leave during shipping crises or as long as he does nothing about the issues with Southwest, we will have drivers for inflation.
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FDA launches study that could lead to removal of restrictions on blood donations by gay and bisexual men
Our purported friends at ABC and Good Morning America suggest that Biden’s FDA may find a way to allow men who have sex with men to contribute to the blood supply. This while they rename “monkeypox” to “m-pox” and try to convince us that there is no correlation between Democrat policies (like early release of felons, bail reform, …) and high crime rates in Democrat cities.
The FDA is sharing new details on a study it’s funding that could lead to the removal of longtime restrictions around blood donations by gay or bisexual men.
The first-of-its-kind pilot study aims to gather and present data to the FDA for review by late 2021, ABC News has learned exclusively.
A change in this FDA policy would mean that more gay and bisexual men would be able to give blood in the U.S. and end what critics have called discriminatory federal guidelines.
The U.K. announced on Monday it would lift its blanket blood-donation policy for all men who have had sex with men. The mandate, based solely on sexual preference, required all gay and bisexual men to abstain from sex with men for three months before being eligible to give blood.
The new criteria, hailed as “landmark change,” according to Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock, will instead focus on individualized risk-based assessments. The revised policy is designed to show that there’s no impact on the safety of blood donated in the U.K.
(Read more at Good Morning America)
Just because Great Britian tried this and hasn’t yet collapsed isn’t enough of a reason to try it here
Great Britian’s healthcare system has been on a slow fail for at least 20 years. To ask us to follow their lead now is just stupid.
However, if there is a dedicated segment of the population that will vote for Democrats even after inflation flew from 5.75% to 11.5% over the past few years, then we may be able to also surmise that there is another group that is equally as stupid. And, of course, there is always the possibility that this all comes from a dedicated group of cheating idiots. Nonethless, it is all the same.
Who knows, with the 2022 midterms, we may find out all sorts of things to come. Biden’s coming term may be very revealing.
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Mark 1:1 