Joe Biden has proven to be an expensive commander-in-chief. Thanks to his (and Washington’s) runaway spending, Americans still struggle with inflated prices on everything from food to furniture.

The president is also putting taxpayers on the hook for a slice of his re-election campaign. In a bid to score points and votes with a younger demographic, Biden traveled to Wisconsin Monday to roll out a new plan to forgive student debt. The Supreme Court blocked his initial efforts to wipe away $20,000 in debt to about roughly 40 million borrowers less than a year ago.

“Today too many Americans, especially young people, are saddled with unsustainable debts in exchange for a college degree,” Biden said.

You know who also has enormous debt? The U.S.

Our national debt stands at $34 trillion.  According to Forbes, the government has two options to reduce the deficit: Decrease spending or raise taxes. That, according to some policy analysts, is how the cost of forgiving student loans makes its way to the public.

“There are trade-offs and it’s quite likely that if we spend this money on forgiving student loan debt we won’t spend it on other things we want to see the government do,” says Sandy Baum, nonresident senior fellow at the Urban Institute.

That’s not lost on some lawmakers. Seven states announced Tuesday they were suing the Education Department over Biden’s SAVE income-driven repayment student loan plan, adding to a previous lawsuit by numerous other states, The Hill reported.

The lawsuit argues the SAVE plan is unconstitutional and will cost taxpayers $475 billion.

“With the stroke of his pen, Joe Biden is attempting to saddle working Missourians with a half trillion dollars in college debt,” Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) said.

“The President does not get to thwart the Constitution when it suits his political agenda. I’m filing suit to halt his brazen attempt to curry favor with some citizens by forcing others to shoulder their debts,” Bailey continued.

What’s particularly galling is that Biden defies a Supreme Court ruling while Democrats make a show of “saving democracy” by backing Biden.

The lawsuit includes Missouri, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma.

The president is right in saying that the cost of a college education is exorbitant. Boston University and Harvard are just two institutions that will start charging at least $90,000 a year starting in the fall. But while Biden and other Dems slam corporations for ripping off consumers and price gouging, sky-high college tuitions are unassailed. If he really wanted to make college more affordable, he would work to lower costs, as his administration has gone after pharmaceutical companies to lower the price of insulin and banks to cut back on fees.

But that takes time, and Biden’s campaign is on a tight schedule. Big, grandiose gestures now will hopefully pay off in November.

What happens after November should Biden’s pandering pit-stops keep him in the White House? Programs will need funding, emergencies will need to be addressed, and the economy will need to grow for the future of the country.

Biden is setting the country up to fail.

Editorial cartoon by Chip Bok (Creators Syndicate)