Calls for student loan debt relief have intensified since the November 2020 presidential election, with...

Politicians, policymakers, and consumer groups in the United States and Europe have recently turned their attention to the increasing size of large tech companies and the market share that those firms capture. While attention is focused on tech giants, another industry is experiencing a similar phenomenon: large banks keep getting bigger. Despite the supposed systemic risk that such institutions pose, large banks continue to grow in size and influence. Despite dispensing bailouts and other rescue measures during episodic financial crises in recent decades, government agencies continue to allow—and in some cases encourage—such growth.

As many readers have likely experienced, the sudden loss of a key manager or executive can have a negative impact on a firm, whatever size. Now imagine a large loss of experienced and knowledgeable managers across a country’s economy. In such a case, one might expect aggregated negative effects, with the country suffering measurable negative economic outcomes.

Throughout the 2020 US presidential campaign, increasing attention was paid to the staggering amount of student loan debt carried by current and former students, which reached $1.6 trillion. That number continues to rise, along with calls for the new administration to deliver some form of student loan forgiveness. At a time when many individuals, especially those with low to moderate incomes, are struggling during a pandemic-induced recession, student debt forgiveness is viewed as both fair to individuals and important for economic growth.