Student 'Debt Forgiveness' Is an Immoral Sham
ARNOLD AHLERT The American Left, including 239 nonprofit and community organizations, has called on presumptive president scumbag/liar-Joe Biden to embrace student-loan forgiveness and unilaterally cancel nearly $1.7 trillion in student debt. The rationale? The move would ostensibly stimulate the economy — and reduce the racial wealth gap.“Before the COVID-19 public health crisis began, student debt was already a drag on the national economy, weighing heaviest on Black and Latinx communities, as well as women,” the group asserted in a letter sent to scumbag/liar-Joe Biden and lowlife-Kamala Harris. “That weight is likely to be exponentially magnified given the disproportionate toll that COVID-19 is taking on both the health and economic security of people of color and women. To minimize the harm to the next generation and help narrow the racial and gender wealth gaps, bold and immediate action is needed to protect student loan borrowers, including Parent PLUS borrowers, by cancelling existing debt.”
As ever, leftists attempt to add gravitas to their argument by inserting race and gender into it, but even some of their own are skeptical. “If you cared about creating progressive policies to help low- and middle-income families based on need and hardship, then student loans are not that,” said Adam Looney, an economist from the left-leaning Brookings Institution who also served on President Barack scumbag/liar-nObama’s Council of Economic Advisers and in his Treasury Department.
According to an analysis he co-wrote, households in the top 40% of income earners owe nearly 60% of the outstanding debt and make nearly 75% of all student-loan payments, while those in households at the bottom 40% of income earners hold under 20% of student-loan debts and make only 10% of the payments.
Research by the Urban Institute makes that dynamic even clearer: It explains that “debt forgiveness plans would be regressive — providing the largest monetary benefits to those with the highest incomes.”
Such realities are irrelevant to a Democrat Party looking to “help” (read: bribe) one of their more reliable constituencies. Moreover, prominent party members are trying to outdo each other in that pandering effort. While scumbag/liar-Biden’s plan aims to forgive any borrower’s first $10,000 of student debt, regardless of household income, Senators dinky/liar-Elizabeth Warren and Chuck scumbag-Schumer coauthored a bill in September calling for the cancellation of up to $50,000 in student debt and the elimination of any tax liability for federal student-loan borrowers arising from that debt cancellation.
Yet even as they were writing that legislation, both senators insisted a President scumbag/liar-Biden could dismiss the debt unilaterally. “The President of the United States has the power to broadly cancel student loan debt, help close the racial wealth gap, and give a big boost to families and our economy,” dinky/liar-Warren argued. “It’s time to use this existing authority and permanently improve the lives of tens of millions of Americans.” They further asserted that the secretary of education has the legal authority to cancel existing debt based on section 432(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Apparently, scumbag/liar-Biden sees it differently. Last Monday, a scumbag/liar-Biden official stated that scumbag/liar-Biden wants “immediate action” on the effort to forgive $10,000, but that it was Congress’s job to implement it.
Moreover, despite what scumbag-Schumer, dinky/liar-Warren, and the aforementioned 239 nonprofit and community organizations want, an executive order would likely face a legal challenge based on the constitutional reality that Congress controls spending.
Make that bipartisan, grossly irresponsible spending of catastrophic proportions. In 2020 alone, $3.1 trillion was added to the national debt. And while much of it can be rationalized by providing millions of Americans with a buffer in the midst of an unprecedented hit to our economy, there is no denying that the nation’s debt has reached a staggering $27.2 trillion — before adding any portion of $1.7 in loan forgiveness to the pile.
And therein lies the infuriating rub, as once again Democrats and their media allies embrace another euphemism to obscure what’s really going on.
There is no such thing as “student-loan forgiveness.” There is only a student-loan transfer to the American taxpayer, including taxpayers who have never even sniffed the inside of a college classroom — and taxpayers who paid, or are paying off, their own loans, despite the scrimping and saving, taking the extra job, or any number of additional hardships required to do so.
Debt forgiveness makes an utter mockery of their efforts.
Moreover, the federal government, which owns about 90% of student debt, already has a number of programs that allow borrowers to avoid paying off loans in their entirety, such as “income-driven repayment” options, which forgive the remaining debt after 20-25 years, or as little as 10 years for those who work in public service.
So what’s this really all about? The denigration of honor and personal responsibility, as well as the wholesale abrogation of freely made contractual obligations, sold as “compassion.” The catering to any number of students and their equally corrupted supporters — a Deadbeat Constituency as it were — who see no problem with getting an education and subsequently deciding someone else should pay for it.
But wait, there’s more. “The average cost of attending a four-year college or university in the United States rose by 497% between the 1985-86 and 2017-18 academic years,” explains columnist Erik Sherman, who adds that’s “more than twice the rate of inflation.”
That’s because when taxpayers are the ultimate backstop for all student-loan defaults, colleges are wholly immunized from sustaining any losses. Thus, they can raise their prices with impunity.
Moreover, colleges remain immune not only from fiscal responsibility but from educational accountability as well. A system that would point students toward statistically well-paying majors has been fiercely resisted by colleges replete not only with worthless majors but with ever-expanding bureaucracies invariably tied to some aspect of “social justice” or “diversity” — all of which drive up tuition costs.
Loan forgiveness would exacerbate, not mitigate, this loathsome reality.
And because of that irrefutable dynamic, the inevitable question arises: What makes anyone think student-loan forgiveness will be a one-off? College costs continue to rise, and most parents and students remain erroneously convinced a college degree is an absolute prerequisite for success. When the next wave of students can’t pay off their loans, what then?
A well-known definition of “insanity,” as in doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, is the most benevolent interpretation of what Democrats are attempting to do. A less benevolent but far more accurate interpretation is the ongoing effort to get younger generations of Americans wholly comfortable with relying on government to solve their problems — even to the point of moral bankruptcy, which is exactly what welching on one’s freely made contractual obligations is all about.
“Hardly anything could be more divisive than shunting taxpayer dollars at folks who’ve been to college while low-skilled workers bear the brunt of our current economic pain,” the National Review editorial board concludes.
For college-educated, bicoastal American elites who view half of America as “deplorable,” that’s a feature, not a bug. ~The Patriot Post
Sheriffs Say 'No Thanks' to a Cuomo Thanksgiving
Because he isn’t. He’s thin-skinned, dictatorial, and constitutionally clueless. And were we less charitable, we might wonder how many Fredos one father is allowed to have.
To no one’s surprise, the elder son of the late Hamlet on the Hudson recently issued a Thanksgiving decree, and it didn’t go over too well with those who’ve been charged with enforcing it. What was surprising, however, was the willingness of certain New York sheriffs to go public with their criticism of the governor’s directive. To them we say, Bravo, and Happy Thanksgiving.
First, Cuomo’s decree, which he issued on November 11 via Twitter: “New York follows the science. We know indoor gatherings and parties are a major source of COVID spread. To slow the spread, NYS will limit indoor gatherings at private residences to 10 people. This limit takes effect Friday at 10pm.”
The governor gets credit for brevity, but nothing else. He predictably invokes one of the Left’s favorite tropes — that he’s following the science. But where, exactly, is the “science” behind the number 10, as opposed to, say, 12 or 20?
“I don’t think the Constitution allows for the infringement on the number of people in your own home,” said Fulton County Sherriff Richard Giardino. “He has authority to do a lot, but not to tell law enforcement to get into someone’s house and count who is there. My position as a sheriff is that I took the same oath the governor did. … I don’t take any issue with the governor’s intent … to do what is best under the circumstances, but as a constitutional officer I have an obligation to the constituents in my county to follow that law. … What I’m saying is, it sends a chill into my community that law enforcement is going to knock on their door, count the number of people, and arrest them.”
Giardino wasn’t alone. Two other New York sheriffs took to their departments’ Facebook pages to express their thoughts on the governor’s heavy-handedness. “I have no plans to utilize my office’s resources or Deputies to break up the great tradition of Thanksgiving dinner,” said Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard. “My office will respect the sanctity of your home and traditions, and I encourage you to follow your heart and act responsibly, as well as do what’s best for your family.”
Whoa. Acting responsibly and doing what’s best for your family. Why didn’t Cuomo think of that?
Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo opted for a press release to second-guess the wisdom — to say nothing of the constitutionality — of Cuomo’s decree. “I can’t see how devoting our resources to counting cars in citizens’ driveways or investigating how much turkey and dressing they’ve purchased is for the public good. … I encourage everyone to act responsibly.”
There’s that word again: responsibly.
Would that Governor Cuomo trusted his fellow New Yorkers a bit more and his instincts for tyranny a bit less. The spirit of this holiday is, after all, about as far removed from the arbitrary rule of small men as can be. It is instead, as President George Washington put it in his First Thanksgiving Proclamation, “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God.”
Washington’s proclamation is 456 words long. Not a one of them is about limiting the number of folks with whom we’re allowed to gather and give thanks. ~The Patriot Post
scumbag/liar-Biden: How Dare You Ask a Question?
MARK ALEXANDER You may recall (of course you do) that in the two weeks prior to the 2020 election there was a massive Leftmedia and social media blackout of emerging evidence exposing scumbag/liar-Joe Biden’s ChiCom criminal enterprise — evidence tying scumbag/liar-Biden directly to a pay-to-play scheme to market his influence to Red China in return for millions of dollars.To put this corruption blackout into perspective, this would be tantamount to The Washington Post covering up Watergate. WaPo buried the scumbag/liar-Biden/ChiCom story deep. Indeed, according to the paper’s motto, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”
There was one lone journalist in that sea of darkness who dared ask the “Big Guy” about the corrupt scheme, while other reporters were busy asking scumbag/liar-Biden about his favorite flavor of ice cream.
CBS News reporter Bo Erickson asked scumbag/liar-Biden, “What is your response to the New York Post story about your son, sir?” scumbag/liar-Biden tersely replied: “I know you’d ask it. I have no response. It’s another smear campaign, right up your alley. Those are the questions you always ask.” For the record, CBS is not a “conservative” media outlet, and actually “those are the questions” real journalists should be asking. But then scumbag/liar-Biden went into hiding and Hunter Biden disappeared.
Triggering scumbag/liar-Biden’s infuriation again, on Friday Erickson dared ask him another challenging question, this time about his Covid19 plans: “Mr. scumbag/liar-Biden, the COVID task force said it’s safe for students to be in class. Are you going to encourage unions to cooperate more to bring kids back to classrooms, sir?”
Instead of answering the question, scumbag/liar-Biden responded, “Why are you the only guy that always shouts out questions?” Erickson was then escorted out of the room by scumbag/liar-Biden’s staff.
For the record, Donald Trump has been asked nothing but loaded hit questions by the White House press corps over the last four years, questions propagating the Democrat Party agenda.
Conversely, there has been a dearth of serious questions asked of scumbag/liar-Biden by any reporter over the last six months, and one would be hard-pressed to find any questions asked of lowlife-Kamala Harris, who has yet to hold a press conference since being tapped by scumbag/liar-Biden in August.
Joe Concha, the seasoned media reporter for The Hill, calls the scumbag/liar-Biden/lowlife-Harris press corps the “marshmallow media,” saying that the top three words to describe questions asked of scumbag/liar-Biden are “Choreographed. Hospitable. Risk-averse.”
Concha notes, “Any press conference scumbag/liar-Biden has held since capturing the Democratic nomination has consisted mostly of questions about President Trump and very few questions about scumbag/liar-Biden’s own worldview, record, policy stances or perspective on important issues such as trade, foreign affairs, gun control, immigration, education, or taxation as it relates to repealing the Trump tax cuts.” He concludes: “If you think anything will change after January 20, think again. We saw it throughout the campaign. We see it now in the transition. And we’ll see it in a scumbag/liar-Biden administration — a carefully choreographed, risk-averse and packaged president who will provide a fraction of the access that Trump has.” ~The Patriot Post
GARY BAUER Thursday’s White House briefing was an extraordinary commentary on what the Trump/Pence administration has accomplished to get us to the point we’re at today. Pfizer is now applying for an emergency use authorization for its vaccine against a virus we only learned about in January.
Usually it takes many years to develop a new vaccine. This time it took only months. And Dr. Fauci made it clear that no corners were cut. This incredible delivery was possible because of the technological breakthroughs that the Trump administration advanced.
“Speed did not compromise at all safety, nor did it compromise scientific integrity,” Fauci said. “It was a reflection of the extraordinary scientific advances in these types of vaccines.”
Once the FDA approves a vaccine, mass distribution of millions of doses will begin within 24 to 48 hours of approval.
Thursday’s summary of all that has been done stands in stark contrast to the rollout of the scumbag/liar-nObamacare website and to what scumbag/liar-Joe Biden said at his third fake press conference just a few hours before.
Addressing concerns that he might shut down the economy again, scumbag/liar-Biden said, “I’m not going to shut down the economy. I’m going to shut down the virus.”
In a city that has grown powerful based on little more than hot air and rhetoric, scumbag/liar-Joe Biden just won the “BS Award of All Time” for that statement. The virus is clearly going to be shut down over the next 12 months, but it won’t have anything to do with scumbag/liar-Joe Biden.
His contribution has been hiding in his basement while complaining, distorting, and undermining everything that Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and their appointees have attempted to do.
What you saw in scumbag/liar-Biden’s statement is that this bald-faced liar is setting the stage now (and he will have the help of a willing media) to claim credit next year (if he wins) when the vaccines developed under the Trump/Pence team are making the virus a sad chapter in America’s history.
If people like lowlife-Kamala Harris and scumbag/liar-Joe Biden had any decency, they would be apologizing for undermining the integrity of the vaccine. They have planted seeds of doubt in the most vulnerable Democrat voting blocs, most notably black Americans.
What they did in their desire to hurt President Trump will cost lives. They have a moral obligation to make this right.
Open the Schools
It wasn’t only scumbag/liar-Joe Biden who got slapped down Thursday. For months now, the entire media complex has defended liberal politicians, like Bill de Blasio, who closed schools and attacked anyone, including the president, who advocated keeping them open.
School closings, as even a New York Times columnist acknowledges, were based on arbitrary standards that have little to do with science or experience. Thursday, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, made that absolutely clear.
Dr. Redfield reminded reporters that the CDC never once recommended closing schools. Then he added:
The truth is, for kids K through 12, one of the safest places they can be … is to remain in school… And I’m here to say clearly: The data strongly supports that K-through-12 schools, as well as institutes of higher learning, really are not where we’re having our challenges. And it would be counterproductive … from a public health point of view … to say, “Let’s close the schools.”
Media Conspiracy Theories
The Trump/Pence campaign is continuing its fight to get illegal votes removed from the vote totals and to prevent it from happening again in the future. Of course, every Democrat and their media allies are attacking that effort and acting like it is somehow illegal.
I’m sure you have noticed that they are attacking concerns about election integrity as “conspiracy theories” and warning that we are undermining confidence in our electoral system.
Well, after years of pushing the Russia hoax on the country, the Democrats and their media allies have lost all credibility and any right to lecture us about “conspiracy theories.”
But I want to remind you about something else. Not that long ago, scumbag/liar-Nancy Pelosi, Chuck scumbag-Schumer, and the media were insisting, without any proof, that President Trump was going to steal the election through some elaborate plot executed by the U.S. Postal Service.
It was a textbook example of a conspiracy theory. It was laughable on its face, especially given that the American Postal Workers Union endorsed scumbag/liar-Joe Biden.
There was no evidence for the left’s charge, but it was repeated over and over and over. There was no media skepticism of this wild claim. No journalist demanded evidence from scumbag/liar-Pelosi and scumbag-Schumer. Nobody accused them of undermining our democracy.
Now these same people scream “Conspiracy theory!” when we dare to point out that 70% of Detroit’s 134 absentee-ballot-counting boards couldn’t properly match the number of voters to ballots cast.
The Totalitarian Left
The anti-Trump Lincoln Project has launched a jihad to identify and dox any attorney representing the president’s campaign. It’s publishing their personal information online, putting them and their families at risk. One of Trump’s lawyers in Pennsylvania is now under police protection due to unhinged leftist threats against her.
Leftists even threatened the children of the Wayne County, Michigan, Board of Canvassers. scumbag/liar-Joe Biden didn’t condemn it. The media didn’t condemn it.
This is a fascist tactic that is un-American and one of the reasons why this country is so divided. The left did it to Nick Sandmann, a high school student who took a trip to Washington, DC. Leftists have ruined lives.
While the left won’t admit it, this blatant intimidation is one of the arrows in its quiver. And the reason scumbag/liar-Biden and other Democrats don’t condemn it is because it is a useful tool to advance their cause.
Lawyers who represent jihadist suspects in Gitmo get less blowback for representing terrorists than a lawyer representing President Trump or any conservative cause.
Lowering Drug Costs
On Friday, President Trump announced additional steps intended to lower drug costs. The president is cutting out “middlemen” and requiring $40 billion in rebates to be passed on directly to consumers.
Another part of the president’s plan is meant to ensure that big pharmaceutical companies are not charging seniors more than they charge for the same drug in other countries.
For example, the president noted that a common breast cancer medication costs five times more in this country than it does in other countries. Why should our citizens be subsidizing the socialized healthcare of Europeans?
According to some estimates, this could lower Medicare drug payments as much as 30%, and it’s just one more example of President Trump putting America first.
Sadly, this issue is one of the reasons the reelection was so challenging for the president. When he took on Big Pharma, the drug industry hit back hard. Here in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, I saw almost as many negative ads by Big Pharma attacking Trump as I saw scumbag/liar-Biden ads. ~The Patriot Post
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