Biden’s student debt relief to fund vacations, new clothes, and more: poll

According to the survey, "Nearly twice as many Democrats than Republicans feel spending on non-essentials is an acceptable thing to do (12 percent vs 7 percent)."

Intelligent.com contracted the group Pollfish to conduct the survey of 1,250 people, all of whom were no longer students.

A more specific breakdown showed that 52 percent said shopping for clothes was their priority, while 46 percent said going out to a restaurant or going on vacation. 44 percent would buy a new smartphone, 36 percent would buy a new video game system, 28 percent would spend their extra cash on drugs and alcohol and 27 percent would go gambling with the money.

77 percent of those polled did say that they could likely use their money more wisely, if the program isn't halted altogether.

On October 21, the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals sided with six GOP-led states who sued the Biden administration to halt the program. The block is temporary and gives the court time to properly work through an injunction request from the Republican-led states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Arkansas.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who is leading the lawsuit, said, "It’s patently unfair to saddle hard-working Americans with the loan debt of those who chose to go to college. The Department of Education is required, under the law, to collect the balance due on loans. And President Biden does not have the authority to override that."

On August 24, President Joe Biden announced that he was canceling up to $10,000 in student loan debt, and up to $20,000 for borrowers who received Pell Grants, a move that will cost taxpayers somewhere between $300 billion and $980 billion over the next 10 years.

To apply, a single entity must make less than $125,000 a year, and married couples less than $250,000.

Biden's student loan forgiveness translates to roughly $2000 per taxpayer using the lower end estimates from the Penn Wharton Budget Model. Nearly 45 percent of people who took out federal student loans would have the entirety of their federal student loans canceled under this action and 95 percent of borrowers benefit from the move.

Biden's plan also extends the payment pause on federal loans until the end of the year and ensures colleges do not face direct financial consequences.