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A group of GOP senators finally said “Enough!” with Joe Biden’s freeze on student loan repayments, so they introduced a bill on Wednesday to stop his authority.
Led by Senate Minority Whip John Thune (SD), Republican Sens. Richard Burr (NC), Mike Braun (IN), Bill Cassidy (LA), and Roger Marshall (KS) introduced the legislation, which they called the “Stop Reckless Student Loan Actions Act.”
Thune said:
“As Americans continue to return to the workforce more than two years since the pandemic began, it is time for borrowers to resume repayment of student debt obligations.”
Amen to that.
He continued:
“Taxpayers and working families should not be responsible for continuing to bear the costs associated with this suspension of repayment. This common-sense legislation would protect taxpayers and prevent President Biden from suspending federal student loan repayments in perpetuity.”
What’s more, the bill would also insure that any future loan suspensions should be left to Congress, not the President.
Can I get another amen?
On Tuesday, Joe Biden met with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in a closed-door session, and promised them that they would “be happy” with what he plans to do about loan relief.
You know why Joe Biden has chosen to speak out on loan forgiveness, don’t you? Of course! He sees his poll numbers tanking and knows that his party is headed for disaster in the November midterms. And what better way to get young adults to vote for the Democrats, right?
Supporters like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) tweeted that this would transform so many lives!
“@POTUS has the power to transform the lives of millions of Americans by canceling student debt. The payment pause has been a lifeline – and it’s time to deliver permanent relief. Cancel student debt, Mr. President.”
While MSNBC host Mehdi Hassan, smelling a political win for the Dems, cheered the idea:
“Canceling federal student debt could be a game changer ahead of the midterms. Activists energized, base enthused, young people turning out again. And the best part: Joe Manchin wouldn’t be able to do a single damn thing to stop Joe Biden from doing it.”
Which is precisely why the GOP senators quickly assembled legislation to stop Biden from this blatant pander for votes. Sen. Mike Braun, one of the co-sponsors of the GOP bill, was spot on when he commented:
“The majority of Americans do not have college degrees. Why should they be forced to pick up the tab for college degrees in the name of pandemic relief? This transfer of wealth is not a move to ‘advance equity,’ but rather a taxpayer handout to appease far-left activists.”
On Monday, the progressive website “Common Dreams” cited a poll from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics which claimed that 85% of those under 30 favored some sort of government relief on student loans. This broke down to 38% wanting full cancellation, while 27% want government assistance. In other words, most think the government owes them some form of largesse.
Young progressive whiners also flocked to their natural habitat at Twitter, where they gnashed their teeth and cried bitter tears about having to pay back their obligations. The prize, however, goes to the guy who posted this:
Screenshot: @TheVengefulHand/Twitter.
It would take far too much space in this post to deconstruct this angle-bargle, and I don’t want to waste your time. Or mine. Just read it and weep, knowing that there are alleged adults out there who think they should be exempt from paying back loans because, you know, it’s not fair! And adulting is hard!
If Joe Biden and his progressive minions get their way, guess who benefits most from student loan cancellation?
If you said it would go to the most affluent, give yourself two points. According to a recent study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, young Americans in high-income areas would benefit the most. On top of that, a January paper from the liberal Brookings Institute found that a third of all student debt is owed by the wealthiest 20% of households. Meanwhile, the bottom 20% of wage earners owe less than 10% of that debt. So that means that high-earning professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, owe 40% of the debt, which they would be forgiven.
And for those who are like my two adult children — who worked their butts off in high school to earn substantial scholarships, and who have also paid off their student loans — do they get reparations in Joe Biden’s brave new world of student loan forgiveness?
Philip Melancthon Wegmann, White House Reporter for Real Clear News, asked Press Secretary Jen Psaki those questions. Here’s what he tweeted about that exchange:
Given that Biden is looking at canceling some student loan debts, I asked if he is also looking at retroactive relief for parents/students who saved and sacrificed so that they wouldn't have to take out loans? @PressSec: "I don't have anything to preview on that front."
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) April 27, 2022
What a shocker. In truth, however, you know the answer, and that answer is No. Sucks to be them, I guess.
Even Sen. Mitt Romney, who’s no hero for conservative Republicans, smells a rat in Joe Biden’s loan forgiveness schemes. On Wednesday he tweeted:
“Desperate polls call for desperate measures: Dems consider forgiving trillions in student loans. Other bribe suggestions: Forgive auto loans? Forgive credit card debt? Forgive mortgages? And put a wealth tax on the super-rich to pay for it all. What could possibly go wrong?”
Good on the GOP Senators for this legislation, and for standing athwart Joe Biden’s reckless behavior, yelling STOP!
Featured image: Roger Blackwell/flickr/cropped/CC BY 2.0.
mer says: If the student loans are actually forgiven, don’t they become taxable income for that tax year?
Lloyd says: Biden’s cancelling of student debt is just another of his “Give Aways” in an effort to secure future votes. Money borrowed, for college or whatever reason, should be paid back by the one who borrowed it. Society at large should not be responsible for individual debt.
Cameron says: 1. The responsibility for that falls on your parents. But if you have made it to 18 without realizing that loans need to be paid back, you’re an idiot.
2. There is this magical thing called “The Internet” that has a treasure trove of information out there for young people who want to learn about careers that don’t require college degrees.
3. Careers begin at the bottom of the ladder. Most starting jobs don’t need Doctorates. If you require higher education, get your foot in the door at a company that does tuition reimbursement.
4. There are ways to get your college experience covered with no debt or a bare minimum of debt. It’s your responsibility to plan accordingly.
Kim Hirsch says: Thanks for deconstructing that! I would add that there are plenty of tech-oriented fields which accept bachelor’s degrees, along with lots of teaching jobs. Does this guy not know there’s a teacher shortage out there? Not to mention that with a bachelor’s you can enter Officer Candidate School, but far be it from him to enter a career in the icky military.
As far as the “criminal” interest rates — obviously this clown has never gotten a home mortgage, has he?
Cameron says: As I’ve said elsewhere, I could only accept this if the money was taken only from the colleges who gave out these diplomas.
Much less a car loan.
States differ on what you need for a teaching cert. My wife had a Bachelor’s, but when she looked into it the first time, years ago, they required the Ed degree. (Now, with the shortage, she has colleagues with just the Bachelor’s, but they still have to get the Ed degree before the emergency cert runs out in two years.) That’s up through 8th grade. High schools here, for cores at least, are requiring Masters (but no Ed degree).
Not that it makes that much of a difference, apparently – Arizona is ranked last or next to last on all “report cards.” (Although we’d probably be much closer to the middle of the pack if those “report cards” didn’t way overemphasize how much money is pumped into the system.)
1. Agreed. Unfortunately, we’re in the second or third generation of illiterates. Financial literacy courses need to be mandated in schools, and available for “adult” education. A good grade in a certified course should count in the credit scores, too (both child and parent).
2. Agreed. No additional comment there, at least for anyone who came of age in the last twenty years.
3. Absolutely. Even for a Bachelor’s, a major declaration should be REQUIRED at freshman enrollment – if you go to a welding trade school, you don’t (or shouldn’t) think you might be a plumber. College should be the same thing.
4. For ALMOST everything. It shouldn’t be as difficult as it is, though, to round up the financing. If any industry should be investigated for “price gouging” and “windfall profits,” it’s the higher education supposed “non-profits.”
One thing that I would do right off, which would be of at least some help, is ban credit card companies from university and college campuses. When my kids (who thankfully know better) went to register, they came back saying that those representatives were circling like sharks – and they felt like the tuna.
Cameron says: “Even for a Bachelor’s, a major declaration should be REQUIRED at freshman enrollment”
One quibble: College students change their majors. Might be smarter to make that required after they knocked out the General Education requirements.
All too many of those requirements are remediation for the sorry state of public schools – and others are “breadth” courses (which are fine, but not at $300 – $500 a credit-hour).
If you need them, just about all of them are available at community colleges, for MUCH less. Like 90% less, here in Tucson.
In any case, my point was that a trade student knows what they want to do to try to make a living from the start. There’s no excuse, in my mind, for someone to decide after two years of over-priced university education. Here, at the public university, for in-state residents, that’s $23K just to dither around.
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