Government help

Economist are now telling Biden that he can lower prices without increasing inflation if he just cancels all student debt. There is logic to this but the same logic holds for canceling car loans and home loans. A big difference is that most student loans are held indirectly by the government but car and home loans are held by private banks. To cancel student loans means to add another $1.6 trillion to the debt which is currently over $23 trillion. According to those who believe in modern monetary policy adding more debt will not cause inflation unless the county is at full employment which it is. These are conflicting ideas and no one can be sure which is right. When the government tried to help everyone achieve the dream of home ownership the bottom fell out and many people, mostly low income people, lost their homes. When the government tried to help the students, the students ended up deep in debt. When the government tried to help single moms the number of single moms tripled. Last year the government sent out trillions in cash to millions of people and that led to inflation. One Black leader, Jason Riley, recently wrote a book entitled, Please Stop Helping Us, in his plea to the federal government. The unintended consequences of good intentions are alive and well.