Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the White House National Economic Council, recently explained: “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,” adding that “compared to the previous year, 1.7 trillion more dollars are coming into the Treasury than are going out.”

Mr. Ramamurti must be smarter than that makes him sound. This year’s deficit and student loans are entirely unrelated. The deficit is falling this fiscal year for two reasons. The first is that most of the transfer payments in Democrats’ $1.9 trillion Covid spending bill last March, including the $3,600 child tax credit and stimulus payments, have lapsed. …

By the White House’s twisted logic, Americans who borrow $50,000 to buy a car one year will have saved $50,000 in the next, which they can spend on an luxury vacation in the Caribbean. It’s no wonder so many students don’t feel they should have to pay for their indulgences when political leaders don’t either.