MY THOUGHTS ON STUDENT DEBT FORGIVENESS
I posted this elsewhere, where people who needed to be grabbed by their lapels and shaken while they were lectured to, because they need to know this, would read it. It’s also useful for folks here:
I'm old enough to remember when the State of California - composed of rich people and poor people and everyone in between - thought that higher education was a Good Thing To Invest In, regardless if everyone would use it, because it would Make Things Better For Everybody in the state, which it did.
Lots and lots of people who wouldn't have been able to afford higher education (like me!) went to school and got BA's and even advanced degrees, and came out DEBT FREE. And many of those people who wouldn't have gone to school otherwise started businesses that HIRED PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T GO TO COLLEGE who wouldn't have been hired for that job (since it wouldn't exist), and since they were debt-free (whether starting business themselves or not) they BOUGHT HOUSES and then furniture for the houses, and all sorts of other stuff whose builders HIRED PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T GO TO COLLEGE who might not have been hired otherwise. And the fact California had a HIGHLY-EDUCATED WORKFORCE the companies that hired that highly-educated workforce were on the bleeding edge of innovation (think Aerospace, which was practically 100% all California), and they sold those things and made money and HIRED PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T GO TO COLLEGE to build those things.
And it all came from people (like me!) who couldn't afford to go to college otherwise. Who got to go because DEMOCRATS like Pat Brown (the good Governor Brown, unlike his moron son) and Jesse Unruh (who was a guy who couldn't go to school until the GI Bill came along and GOVERNMENT HELP got him an education)created the California State Colleges and University system.
And then Governor Deukmejian, A REPUBLICAN, started killing the system in the early 80s, while Sainted Ray Gun started killing US government support for education (since we all know that "government IS the problem"), and the costs of education did what they did and we got what we have.
AND BECAUSE OF WHAT SAINTED RAY GUN DID to the US economy when he killed unions and gave away the store to the Trust Fund Babies, the expectation people had of having HIGHER INCOMES IN THE FUTURE no longer works THANK YOU VERY MUCH REAGANAUTS!
And while Reaganism was busy killing the goose that laid golden eggs for everybody, the Professional Assholes of Reaganism created Conservatism Inc., which created the system that Trump took over, that all of you (at least the ones of you who didn't get boiled in the pot with the rest of the frogs) now oppose.
So, you'll pardon me, but when the day comes I need to take moral guidance from the people who FUBARED AMERICA (FUBAR - an old military term: Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition) over the past 50 years, I'll be happy to take it, but on that day Hell will be under 10 miles of glacial ice.
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OMG! What a great commentary on what happened to the idea that education (no matter at what level but certainly from pre-K through college - if that is where your path led) was for the PUBLIC GOOD and not a way for fat cats to get even more into their portfoliios and grow the loan industry. I too, went to college through state funded grants - I too came out of college without debt. By the time I went to seminary, however (because who wants to educate decent clergy?) I borrowed at first on a credit card but then the church where I was a member actually paid my tuition for several years so I came out with an advanced degree without debt. My youngest joined the Navy to become a doctor - he owed the nation for his education and he paid a good part of it in the Navy. My other two had to borrow money and they may be close by now to paying it off. Something has been wrong with all of that for years and years. If you did not hear Fresh Air today and a report from ProPublica of how the billionaire class get away with paying no income taxes at all, be sure to find it and take a listen, then find the report. And then when you think of "Cinema" and "Mansion"- although ostensibly democrats -really just one more of the crowd protecting the ultra rich from paying their fair share while everyone else hunkers down trying to make it from day to day. I learned today that one county in Mississippi, primarily composed of African American residents, is audited more by the IRS than the billionaires at the top - because of --hold on to your hat - the EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT! At any rate - the dems, by and large, are better than the r's - who have taken on everything but the brown uniforms at this point. They are however practicing their salutes to whichever fascist comes along - Orban comes to mind. Finally I learned a NEW WORD today for which I will forever be grateful - I wonder if I can sneak it into a sermon? It begins with F!
We barely qualify, but will benefit from the loan forgiveness, so am definitely biased. I believe I would support it even if I did not qualify. I feel Biden did his best to balance campaign promises with the economy and making sure not to look too communist in the eyes of the criminal, socialism for us, and fiscally irresponsible trump party, oh wait… my kid is doing local JC because it is a fast cheap way to start a career paying well. My child can stick with that or pay own way or self teach through less accessible and more costly stem careers because child and we do not see the need to put ourselves $25-50k in the hole for a state college degree. I remember when I first went to college and state tuition was under $900 and rent for my own room about $500. Very doable. Even returning as an adult was not bad. Now average families and individuals starting out are very impacted by the costs. It’s a different world for young adults.