The moratorium on repaying student loans in America was a bad idea
How bad is now becoming clearer
Milton friedman used to joke that nothing is so permanent as a temporary government programme. So it nearly was with America’s moratorium on student-loan payments. The debt-relief scheme—which suspended payments, interest charges and collections on more than $1trn in federal student loans—was passed by Congress in the early days of the pandemic. Although meant to expire after just six months, it proved popular with voters and was extended eight times, despite a price tag of $5bn a month. Now the programme may at last be ending for good. The debt-ceiling deal negotiated by President Joe Biden and the House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, would resume student-loan payments on August 30th, without the possibility of an extension.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline "Forgive and forget"
United States June 3rd 2023
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- The moratorium on repaying student loans in America was a bad idea
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- House Republicans are no closer to tying Hunter Biden’s activities to Joe
- America’s states are pursuing their own foreign policies
- Conservative Americans are building a parallel economy
- Nikki Haley, like other long shots, sees a path to victory
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