After years of struggle I finally paid off my student loans with my first novel advance. Still struggled after, but I could at least sleep thru the night w/o stress nightmares. Why the hell wouldn't those of us who got that kind of break want others to feel the same relief?

I just don't get that thinking. It's *vindictive,* toward total strangers. It's not even good economic sense; all those millions of ppl would *buy things* if freed from debt. They would pay rent & bills. They could pick the economy up, after Team Stale Cheeto tried to sink it.

Somewhere since the 80s we've gone as a country from "greed is good," which was bad enough, to "shooting myself in the face to spite others is awesome," and that right there is how we landed in this Year of Our Bullshit 2020.

(j/k, I know we've always been here. Sigh.)

(Y'all... I do actually get it. It's a toxic combo of classism [poor people are lazy] and toxic masculinity [needing help is weakness] and racism [black people might get a 'handout'] and probably evangelicalism [I'm good, they're bad, let them burn]. No need to 'splain.)