President Joe Biden wants Americans to waive some of the student loans they took out to finance their college education.

According to media reports, the President wants to repay up to $10,000 per citizen if they earn less than $125,000 a year.

The left wing of the Democrats has been pushing for this decision since Biden took office, but has called for the repayment of up to $50,000 per capita.

The decision is highly controversial.

Even Democratic politicians and prominent economists who support the party warned against the move until the last minute, but the Republicans are against it anyway.

Researchers at the Wharton Business School calculated that the program would cost $300 billion.

Currently, around 45 million Americans owe a total of $1.7 trillion, which is approximately 37 .

Winand von Petersdorff-Campen

Economic correspondent in Washington.

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Supporters of the repayment plan argue that the affected generation had to shoulder significantly higher university fees than their predecessors.

In fact, college costs are among the few services that have increased significantly even in the near-inflation-free period through 2019.

A Master of Business Administration program at the aforementioned Wharton School costs $118,000 for one year, including tuition, room and board.

It is further argued that student debt is widening the wealth gap between black and white Americans.

Black college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more than their white peers and would therefore benefit greatly.

Left-wing politicians like Senator Elizabeth Warren are also campaigning for the big repayment, arguing that the debt burden is crippling the economy because the younger generation is reluctant to buy houses or cars.

Biden struggles with poor approval ratings

Republican opponents of the plan see it as a vote-buying project designed to help Biden in the November midterm elections.

Given moderate approval ratings, Biden is dependent on young voters, who usually show lower turnout.

Critics point out that the two-thirds of Americans without a college degree are helping to fund a relief they are not getting.

According to calculations by the Wharton School, the group of those earning between $82,000 and $141,000 a year benefited the most.

Citizens who have paid off their debts through their own efforts are already venting their displeasure on social media.

Among the staunch warners against a rollback are economists Larry Summers and Jason Furman, who have both served as Democratic presidents.

They expect the relief program to increase demand and fuel inflation, which is currently at 8.5 percent.

Added to this is the burden on the national budget, which Furman argues will sooner or later have to be covered by higher taxes or lower government spending.

A debt moratorium has been in effect since the beginning of the pandemic, which expires at the end of August.

The student loans have not had to be serviced since then.

Biden wants to extend the moratorium at least until the end of the year.