Republicans are furious at Biden’s plan to write off some student debt, up to $10,000 for most borrowers, and $20,000 for the poorest who qualified for Pell grants.
It isn’t a gift; it’s fair play. Let’s review a bit of history. In the early 2000s, states began cutting back support for public higher education, and student debt grew exponentially (see chart here) as colleges shifted those costs to students by raising tuition at a rate far outpacing general inflation (see chart here), which needless to say pushed millions of students deeper into debt. For example, when Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) — who called loan forgiveness “unfair” — graduated from college, his tuition was $159 per year (see story here).
But Republicans were utterly unsympathetic. Back in 2011, as the country was emerging from the Great Recession and still struggling with high unemployment, they wanted to cut funding for Pell grants and job training; see story here. Republicans just don’t like students, poor people, and the unemployed. (That’s why I switched from being a Goldwater Republican in high school to voting for Democrats when I was a poor college student.)
Reducing the student debt overhang on the economy, which now exceeds total credit card debt, helps the economy. Student debt is forcing young people to delay starting families and keeps them from buying homes (see, e.g., stories here and here). It makes no sense to say they shouldn’t have gone to college; where would we get an educated workforce? Where would be get the engineers, doctors, accountants, and business managers our society needs?
But Republicans have a habit of not making sense, while being hypocrites too. They pushed through trillion-dollar tax cuts for billionaires and giant corporations, and now complain because their own deficits are contributing to inflation. Biden quite properly threw that in their faces by saying, “Is it fair to people who, in fact, do not own multibillion-dollar businesses, if they see one of these guys getting all the tax cuts? Is that fair? What do you think?”
When Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) called Biden’s limited forgiveness “completely unfair,” the White House pounced, pointing out that she and her husband’s construction business got $183,504 of Paycheck Protection Program loans forgiven. That’s over 9 times what the poorest students will get, and over 18 times what the average eligible student will get. (Former students earning over $125,000 aren’t eligible.)
Now comes utterly stupid and insulting remarks from two high-profile Republican senators and a Republican representative with a GED.
On Fox News (of course), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) talked about “people pulling themselves up by the boostraps,” then expounded on how he did it. “The day I got elected to the Senate I had over $100,000 still in student loans that I was able to pay off because I wrote a book and from that money I was able to pay it,” Rubio said. The only honest part of this is he added that if he hadn’t been elected a senator, “I’d still be paying it.” (See story here.) I classify this one as stupid. The dishonest part is he didn’t write it, a ghostwriter paid with $20,000 of political donations did. (See story here.)
Then there’s the inimitable Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who can’t open his mouth without insulting someone. “If you are that slacker barista who wasted seven years in college studying completely useless things, now has loans and can’t get a job, Joe Biden just gave you 20 grand,” he said on a podcast that only stupid people listen to. Not satisfied with that, he also suggested young people “get off the bong for a minute.” (See story here.) This is how he’s helping his party blow the midterm elections.
And finally, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who’s in a class by herself because everybody else in Congress finished high school, claimed Biden is “robbing hard-working Americans to pay for Karen’s daughter’s degree in lesbian dance theory.” (To see responses, go here.)
If you’re still voting for Republicans, don’t try to explain why to me. You can’t. The only reason to still be a Republican these days is because you’re white, privileged, and want to slam the door on everyone else. We’re a free country and you can choose to be that kind of person if you want to be. But don’t call yourself a patriot or claim you’re more “American” than anyone else. America achieved its preeminent place in the world by being a land of opportunity, not a place of exclusion and closed doors.
By the way, there’s nothing wrong with barista work, or any other honest work. I have more respect for a good school janitor than for a lazy doctor whose patients can’t see him because he’s busy playing golf.