President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he will launch a massive effort to “forgive” student loan debt for borrowers who still owe.

This plan isn’t just a bailout for well-off college degree holders. It’s a slap in the face for hardworking Americans.

It’s a slap in the face to the working-class father who dreamed of sending his daughter to college. He took on an extra shift at work, skipped vacations, and put off needed home repairs, all so that he could save every penny so that his daughter wouldn’t need to go into debt to go to school.

It’s a slap in the face for the recent college graduate who decided to live with three roommates and take the bus to work every day so that every extra dollar could be put toward getting himself out of student loan debt.

It’s a slap in the face for the high school graduate who decided to enlist in the military and take advantage of our country’s promise to him: You serve, we pay for your college.

With the swipe of a pen, Biden made a mockery of such sacrifices.

His plan aims to forgive up to $20,000 of student loan debt for Pell Grant holders and $10,000 for all other debt holders earning under $125,000 a year (or $250,000 for a household).

The Biden plan is estimated to cost American taxpayers roughly $300 billion at a time when they’re struggling to cope with record-high inflation.   

This unprecedented, legally questionable action from the Biden administration begs countless unanswered questions.

Will officials make any changes to the federal student loan program to prevent future debt problems? Should future generations come to expect $10,000 worth of forgiveness? What is to stop colleges and universities from raising tuition in response to this move?

Green-lighting any level of loan forgiveness without first addressing the source of the student loan debt problem indicates a desire to win political points rather than a genuine interest in problem-solving.

In reality, forgiving student loan debt isn’t just bad public policy for failing to address the root causes of skyrocketing college tuition. It is also a sign of disrespect for most Americans and a reminder that the priority for policymakers in Washington is to assuage the elite at the expense of the working class.

A country that respected its workers wouldn’t ask them to pay for college degrees they didn’t get. It wouldn’t dismiss the sacrifices of those who paid and ask them to pay again through taxation for those who didn’t.

A country that took seriously the impact of inflation on American families wouldn’t make the problem worse through poorly designed elitist handouts.

Fairness and responsibility have left the conversation when it comes to loan forgiveness, and those values have been replaced by greed and victimhood.

College is indeed too expensive, and for many it’s not worth it. Unfortunately, those who decided not to go into debt to attend college now will be forced to pay anyway.

The refusal to admit the obvious—that the federal student loan program has been a massive failure that drives up college prices—is nothing short of a betrayal of the American people.

Future generations will be encouraged to take on more debt, perpetuating an endless cycle of strain on our economy. The federal student loan program must be abolished to save regular Americans from perpetually paying the price of college degrees for the elite.   

The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation.

Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. 

The post Biden’s ‘Forgiveness’ of Student Loan Debt Isn’t Just a Bailout. It’s a Slap in the Face appeared first on The Daily Signal.