Staff Reports
The United States Supreme Court has once again reminded President Joe Biden that the Constitution does not include an “all-you-can-eat” buffet of taxpayer-funded student loan forgiveness. This week, the High Court put its foot down, denying an emergency request from the Biden administration to lift a nationwide injunction on the president’s much-touted federal student loan forgiveness plan. A plan that was supposed to send borrowers into a debt-free euphoric state but turned out to be more like finding a soggy sandwich in the lunchbox of government policies.
The student loan forgiveness saga began with the ambitious yet flawed Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan that rolled onto the scene last July. Responses to Biden’s previous efforts to wipe the slate clean for student debt showed a consistent theme: government overreach and financial irresponsibility. States, led by the show-me state of Missouri, challenged the latest plan, contending that the president’s attempt to cavalierly erase debt was a classic case of executive overreach — a theme that has become far too familiar under this administration. Apparently, for Biden, “executive orders” mean “I’ll just write a check for everything.”
BREAKING: The Supreme Court just ruled against Biden on his plan to unilaterally use tax dollars to cancel student loan debt
… Again pic.twitter.com/jzQsjzORZC
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 28, 2024
Opponents of the plan are not fans of the potential $475 billion dollar hit on the American taxpayer that the plan would impose. The notion that the administration could simply bypass Congress to jam through policies that resemble something out of a magician’s hat has struck a chord. The points made by the states argued that no agency can decide to wipe out loans without proper authorization. The audacity of claiming the right to erase debt with virtually no oversight is the stuff of fairy tales – in which the taxpayer always coughs up the gold.
A federal judge in Missouri wasn’t having it either, ruling that at least one part of the plan should be put on hold. The appellate court quickly followed suit, yanking the entire mess back from the brink. The irony, of course, is that over 8 million borrowers are currently enrolled in the SAVE program, some likely envisioning a world where their student loans vanish into thin air. But in the grand game of student loan roulette, it seems that winning is far from guaranteed – particularly when the House of Checks and Balances has its say.
🚨BREAKING: The Supreme Court unanimously upheld our court order BLOCKING @KamalaHarris and @JoeBiden' illegal student loan cancellation scheme.
This is a HUGE victory for the working Americans who won't have to foot the bill for the Biden-Harris Ivy League bailout. pic.twitter.com/iK8G1yORHt
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) August 28, 2024
This ruling doesn’t mean the last chapter has been written yet; it’s likely that the Biden administration’s lawyers are brewing up another trip to the Supreme Court. As the fall season approaches, Americans will be left to ponder whether further attempts to push this plan through will bear any fruit or just fall flat like many of the administration’s other ambitious undertakings. One thing is certain: when it comes to financial decision-making, it seems the only thing the Biden administration has mastered is the art of making a taxpayer-funded mess.
