Peach Tree Times

In August, President Joe Biden announced his student loan forgiveness plan, sparking controversy in the midst of record-high inflation.

During a White House press conference called to discuss the plan, Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the National Economic Council (NEC), when asked who would fund Biden’s relief program, noted that the plan has already been paid for.

“What I would say is that, yes, this is paid for; it is paid for and far more by the amount of deficit reduction that we’re already on track for this year,” he said.

As inflation sweeps the nation, Georgia residents have already seen the costs of household goods go up 13.9% since the start of 2021; a report by the Joint Economic Committee showed.

Several experts recently told FOX Business that Biden's plan is expected to cause an incline in college tuition prices and actually add to the inflation crisis.

"Students will likely feel liberated to borrow more money on the assumption of future loan forgiveness, and universities will take advantage of the additional borrowing by raising tuition," Brian Riedl, a senior fellow in budget, tax and economic policy at the Manhattan Institute, said in the FOX Business report. "This is pretty similar to the fact that historically 60% of all student aid increases have been captured with tuition hikes, and this will be treated like an increase in student aid moving forward, which suggests that 60% will be countered by tuition hikes."

A recent survey conducted by CNBC found that nearly three in five Americans are concerned that student debt cancellation will only worsen existing inflation.

“Pouring roughly half trillion dollars of gasoline on the inflationary fire that is already burning is reckless,” Jason Furman, former chairman of the Council for Economic Advisers under the Obama administration, said in a recent tweet.

As of Aug. 16, the Department of Education reported that $32 billion in student loan relief had been approved under the Biden administration. Of that amount, nearly $10 billion was approved through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget recently published a report finding that $10,000 worth of student debt cancellation would nullify any deflationary benefits from the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act. The report also found that student debt cancellation could add 15 basis points of inflation immediately, with additional increases down the road.

Last month, Consumer Reports highlighted the latest Consumer Price Index numbers, showing 8.5% inflation in July. The index measures the change in price for a number of common household goods, including food and energy. The report also pointed out that 97% of Americans were worried about increased prices due to the rise in inflation.