President Joe Biden announced the forgiving of an additional $9 billion in student loans this week, just days after millions of Americans began repaying the loans after a three-year pause created by the pandemic. The latest development came after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Biden's previous initiative to forgive student loans, calling it unconstitutional.

The Biden administration says it's looking to make good on his campaign promises by correcting past issues and providing relief through three different debt-relief programs.

“This kind of relief is life-changing for individuals and their families,” Biden said.

Critics call it wasteful spending, and even question whether it exceeds the president’s authority. Following the latest announcement, the total amount of debt cancelled by the administration increased to a total of $127 billion.

So what kind of impact is that likely to have on the U.S. economy?

“There is going to be some short-term economic impact from that and some long-term,” said John Millet of the Bouchey Financial Group.

An estimated 125,000 borrowers will benefit through three specific categories, including 53,000 people under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program; nearly 51,000 borrowers who’ve made payments for 20 years or more; and about 22,000 people who have a total or permanent disability will gain access to relief.

“Returning to repayment and having to come up with money you really don’t have as a student loan borrower is really difficult,” noted Carolina Rodriguez, director of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program, a state-funded nonprofit dedicated to helping New Yorkers navigate the student loan repayment system.

“Oftentimes, people think they just have to repay it, when in reality for a lot of borrowers, that may not be feasible because their loan balance is just so high that even if they tried to repay it in their lifetime, they won’t be able to,” Rodriguez said.

Economists suspect minimal impacts, at least in the short-term.

“Remember, a lot of these borrowers have had their loan payments on pause, so it’s not like we’re going to see this sudden influx of cash in consumer spending into the markets,” Millet said.

That could be a good thing, with the Federal Reserve System working to address record-breaking inflation.

“Trying to orchestrate this very soft landing of our economy as they’re attempting to get inflation down into their target range of 2%,” Millet said.

There could be a larger impact in the longer term with the forgiven debt creating a healthier balance sheet.

“You know, remember we’ve seen a 20% reduction in homeownership in young adults, largely driven by the level of student debt that they have to incur,” Millet said.