For starters, there are a lot of big numbers flying around —let’s try to herd some cats…
President Biden promised to forgive between $10K-20K of student loan debt for every American making less than $125,000. It has the potential to help 40 million Americans —but, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, it could cost $400-600 billion dollars.
Big numbers. Lots going on. And we don’t even know if it’s legal. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, not that long ago, said the President couldn’t wipe out student loan debt without the lawmakers in Congress. It sounds like he can and he will (shoring up some midterm votes in the process.)
Now most, if not all, Republicans absolutely hate this idea; “it’s a handout for coastal elites who want to get a gender studies degree,” they say. And, they may be right. But what’s most alarming about this whole multi-billion dollar burden shift, is how little it actually solves.
Higher learning is still prohibitively expensive. Why isn’t Joe Biden fixing that? Why aren’t Democrats reigning in colleges and knocking down some of that sticker shock pricing?
The simple answer is money. Democrats have received more than 70% of political donations from higher education since 2002, according to OpenSecrets —not that we needed any more evidence that higher learning has leapt way to the left.
According to Fox News, “Biden received more than $64.5 million from individuals in higher education during his 2020 presidential campaign…[and] In 2020, the top 20 recipients of political donations from higher education were all Democrats except former President Trump, who came in at No. 5 on the list with just over $8.8 million.”
All Democrats? Yup.
“Biden’s $64.5 million placed him at the top of the list, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., with over $17.1 million and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., with over $11.6 million. All three have been staunch proponents of some level of student loan debt cancellation,” Fox reports.
Harvard is worth more than $53 billion dollars; it costs students more than 70K to attend for one year. Yale, $31 billion; students pay 84K to attend. Why are truck drivers, hairdressers, tradespeople —all American taxpayers on the hook for Biden’s forgiveness plan?
Because Biden, Bernie, and Liz won’t bite the hand that feeds.
Not all Democrats like this plan; vulnerable House Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) says it’s no way to make policy.
“We all know the cost of higher education is crushing families, and that’s why I’ve supported expanding Pell Grants, affordable community college, and loan forgiveness for those entering vital professions like nursing,” Pappas said in the statement. “But this announcement by President Biden is no way to make policy and sidesteps Congress and our oversight and fiscal responsibilities.”
“Any plan to address student debt should go through the legislative process, and it should be more targeted and paid for so it doesn’t add to the deficit,” Pappas continues. “The President’s plan also doesn’t address the underlying issue of the affordability of higher education, and it is clear that the high cost continues to limit opportunities available to students.”
Exactly.
