VICTOR JOECKS: Student loan debt forgiveness is a terrible idea

There’s a reason Joe Biden spent so little time talking about his agenda. It’s not very appealing.

Biden may have won the presidency, but neither he nor Democrats earned a mandate. Pundits predicted a Democratic sweep in Congress. It didn’t happen.

Zoom out and it looks as if the election was a rejection of President Donald Trump’s personality, not his policies. Biden certainly approached the race that way. He barely campaigned, using the pandemic as a excuse to hide out in his basement. Trump, who seemed to prefer the spotlight rather than the presidency, was happy to keep the attention on himself.

It was easier to highlight policy differences in congressional races, where candidates aren’t as well-known as Trump. In the light of their underwhelming down-ballot performance, Democrats are pointing fingers. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., thinks the party has gone too far to the left. She blasted those who pushed the “defund the police” movement.

“And we need to not ever use the word ‘socialist’ or ‘socialism’ ever again,” she said on a Democratic caucus call that leaked to the press. “Because while people think it doesn’t matter, it does matter. And we lost good members because of that.”

Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa., also lashed out those who supported a fracking ban. Biden has supported doing just that.

Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., doesn’t seem to have gotten the message. This week, he floated a trial balloon for another radical idea.

“I have a proposal with Elizabeth Warren that the first $50,000 of (student loan) debt be vanquished, and we believe that Joe Biden can do that with the pen as opposed to legislation,” he said in an interview.

Biden likes to tout his working-class roots. It’s hard to imagine a proposal more at odds with that. This would be a giveaway to the country’s highest income earners costing around $1 trillion. The median yearly earnings for someone with a bachelor’s degree is around $65,000. For professional degree holders, it’s more than $95,000. But for those who’ve graduated only high school, it’s under $40,000.

This plan would punish people for making good decisions. An untold number of people went to a less prestigious school to save money. Others worked their way through college. Still others scrimped after graduating to pay off their loans as quickly as possible.

Fundamentally, this proposal cuts against what makes American great. People have the freedom to do what they want — but they must accept responsibility for their actions. Not with this plan. Uncle Sam would save them from their bad choices. If Biden pursues this via executive order, the Supreme Court should find it unconstitutional.

If Biden had been honest about his radical policy ideas, he likely wouldn’t be the next president.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.