I thought this information was important in the ongoing blog discussion about student loan forgiveness. I think people are focusing too much on ‘people not having to pay’ instead of looking into the details of the program. Many people, think that student loans come from private banks. Not most of them. Obama changed the student loan program in 2010. “Now, instead of having banks use government money to loan tuition, the government will lend the funds directly.”
“All federal student aid programs – which include student loans, Pell Grants and work-study, for example – are funded by federal tax dollars paid by U.S. citizens.
Each year, Congress appropriates money to fund these programs as part of the annual budget process. Once the budget is finalized – passed by both the House of Representatives and Senate – and signed into law by the president, Congress electronically transfers the money from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of Education.”
In my original post I was writing from the point of view that banks were screwing people over. But it turns out it is THE GOVERNMENT who is screwing people over with never-ending daily compounded interest and Social Security check garnishment. First they are screwing the taxpayer by giving out money from the treasury for loans (is that Constitutional?) and then they are screwing the borrower with the interest rates. The government also owns the 10 student loan servicing companies!
It’s all unconstitutional! The entire federal student loan program should be scrapped. I wish people would wake up to the depths of our government’s corruption, especially the Progressive Democrat agenda which was greatly advanced by Obama.
As I said before, I think the ultimate goal is ‘free college for all‘, which sane people know as ‘socialism’. And I am not for socialist policies. However I don’t think it’s right for Conservatives to get so upset about this plan and not about the many other socialist plans that have been in play since the the Depression.
One common complaint is that “I paid my way and you should, too.” Underneath this logical statement is the emotion that they feel like they should NOT have paid their own way. In other words they feel like they got cheated for doing the right thing. But that is not true. They did the right thing. Good for them!
Yes, the public is getting cheated in many ways. This plan is not fair. But you can still feel proud that you did the right thing.
Why does student loan forgiveness spark outrage and other socialist programs don’t ? I think it’s because it’s much more public than the energy subsidies and education funding and other things that people are willing to pay for because they assume the programs ‘benefit society’.
In theory, a better educated society would benefit everyone. So maybe we should have free college? But that doesn’t work in a capitalist economy that is based on competition and LIMITING competition through the use of the education and licensing system.
The real problem is that half the people think life should be ‘fair’ and the other half think ‘life’s not fair’.
If you really think about it, the student loan program is a TAX. It’s another welfare program that increases the federal budget that only benefits certain people. It’s simply income redistribution, which is not new, but is reaching new heights since Obama.
I think Biden opened a can of worms, but most people are not going to try to understand it all.
I look forward to the the discussion!
Blue Skies and Green Pastures 
Thank you for continuing the discussion. I think any time the government takes over for private industry they are increasing their power and lessening competition.
I’m glad we’re still talking about all this stuff. 🙂
I don’t believe “a better educated society” would benefit everyone. I think we really need our plumbers, electricians, and mechanics, perhaps far more them we need our history or philosophy majors. Also, “education,” doesn’t necessarily mean reading and writing anymore, it can also mean indoctrination and social engineering.
I’m also a bit disgrunted about “credentials.” People can be lifelong learners and very smart without ever having gone to college, and conversely, people can spend their entire college life partying it up, but come out with a credential that somehow gives them expertise. Heck, if you have enough money you can even just buy yourself some credentials.
One good thing, near as I can tell the tax has been waved on this thing. Something many people don’t realize, debt forgiveness is taxable, it is treated as income. I was concerned all these people were going to get hit with a whopping tax bill at the end of the year.
Trades and self taught skills and cultivated talents don’t get the pay respect they deserve . My brother has worked as done the work of a structural engineer all his adult life , building schools and huge buildings all over Houston. But he doesn’t have a degree so he never got paid what he was worth to that company. He was/is their best guy . Figures out difficult problems like how to remodel a Bush airport terminal without closing it. His wife couldn’t get healthcare and was hours/minutes from death by COPD because they can’t afford health insurance. As for them taxes the forgiven debt, that would be unconscionable.
When I was a kid in the 60s and 70s, Mercedes-Benz was the ultimate status symbol because it was THE best built car in the world (not counting the Rolls-Royce). By the 1990s they had begun to become more affordable and more people in the US were driving them. The quality of the car deteriorated in direct proportion to the mass marketing and popularization.
The same holds true for college education. As a professor at the flagship University in our state, my wife has seen the quality of students declining year-by-year for 30 years as more students qualify for scholarships (which have little to do with scholastic ability) and enrollment soared.
When you make college “available to all,” you will NOT get the quality of students required who understand what a university education is nor how critical thinking in involved in learning to learn. It is already almost gone from U students who just want a bigger paycheck than high school grads get. NO interest in learning, “Just give me my paper so I can say I graduated.” 😟 Many would do better with a trade school, and probably get better pay than many college degree now earn.
As for socialist programs sparking outrage, I have been mad for 50 years ever since I learned what Social Security was! 😠 (😂)
❤️& 🙏, c.a.
Good intentions , bad results . 🙄