Student loan handout: Even liberal CNN, MSNBC, NBC point out critical flaws in Biden’s plan

Even left-leaning media outlets are pointing out critical flaws of President Biden’s student loan handout plan, with MSNBC, CNN, ABC and NBC noting that the massive payout will likely increase taxes, primarily benefit the wealthy, and ramp up inflation. 

On Wednesday, Biden announced he will cancel $10,000 in federal student loans for certain borrowers making under $125,000 a year. That number gets bumped up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. Furthermore, the plan will also extend the student loan moratorium until the end of the year. 

After a string of policy wins for the Biden administration that saw the liberal media celebrating, the administration’s latest move to pay off nearly $300 billion in debt received far less enthusiasm. Progressive and liberal Democrats, as well as Republicans, all scrutinized the move for a variety of different reasons, with networks echoing those concerns. 

On CNN Newsroom with Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto, guest Catherine Rampell, an opinion columnist for The Washington Post, argued that there are "better ways" to tackle education-incurred debt and ballooning college tuition. She added that Biden’s decision to be less "targeted" and more "broad" would cost the country a lot more money, and go to some people that don’t really need the handout. 

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"I think from an equity and an inflationary standpoint—it’s not the best use of taxpayer dollars," she said.

Earlier that morning, CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans suggested that the plan could appear unfair to Americans that could not afford to take on the cost of student loans, but then made strong financial decisions and paid off the bill in full.

"There’s a visceral response from some who say wait a minute, I sent my kid to a state school, we paid for this, we live below our means, we didn’t want student debt in the first place, and now we’re forgiving people’s student debt," Romans said. 

She later noted that the plan could be "inflationary" and may not "target the right things" in the U.S. economy. In addition, Romans expressed the concerns of others worried that the plan disproportionately benefits upper-middle class Americans and does little to solve the underlying issues of the higher education system. 

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Meanwhile, fellow CNN business correspondent Rahel Solomon asserted that the biggest concern with Biden’s handout plan was how consumer demand and consumer spending could be impacted, during an appearance on CNN’s "At This Hour."

"More consumer spending would add to inflation," Solomon noted. 

Host Kate Bolduan noted that the inflation concern was "real," and questioned whether the White House was aware of criticism from progressive groups who feel as though the student loan plan does little to help the struggles of minority Americans. Bolduan then read off a quote from the NAACP that said "this is not how you treat Black voters."

Over on ABC News Live, anchor Diane Macedo also reiterated concerns from the NAACP that the plan leaves Black Americans and women "behind," considering the substantial percentage of the overall U.S. student debt burden they hold. 

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During a Wednesday morning segment on NBC News, Capitol Hill correspondent Allie Raffa laid out all the various criticism surrounding Biden’s plan to give relief to student debt holders. She touched on anger from progressive Democrats, who felt the payout fell well short of the $50,000 they had hoped for, as well as concern from economists, including Democrats, signaling a potential negative impact on inflation. 

"Some economists say this could just exacerbate the severity of the inflation levels right now that are already at a 40-year-high," Raffa said. 

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She also cited several studies that showed the relief for some Americans would inevitably add up to billions and billions of dollars of debt over the next decade. 

Furthermore, MSNBC’s "Way Too Early with Jonathan Lemire" noted the many viewpoints on the plan, such as the idea that it is a giveaway to the rich, or that it will increase inflation, have all contributed to the "pressure" surrounding Biden.