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Listen, I agree that early childhood education spending is vital, and would significantly help many groups that have traditionally been left behind.
BUT--
Not canceling $50K of student loan debt per person because you're afraid of helping "elite school" attendees is stupid. https://twitter.com/mstratford/status/1361887361395789824
BUT--
Not canceling $50K of student loan debt per person because you're afraid of helping "elite school" attendees is stupid. https://twitter.com/mstratford/status/1361887361395789824
First --- canceling $50K is actually a great idea, because it would, on average, completely knock out the debt taken on by students who got their degrees from community colleges, which tends to be a group that is older, poorer, and more of color.
So just by existing it's helping them.
It would also make a large chunk of help for those who attended state schools -- it might not get rid of all the debt, but $50K is a very substantial chunk for that.
It would also make a large chunk of help for those who attended state schools -- it might not get rid of all the debt, but $50K is a very substantial chunk for that.
All of which is great. But let's talk elite schools for a second. I have some authority on this --- my degree is from a private college that was very impressed with itself, and I've taught at private colleges that thought that their farts didn't smell.
There are a few groups attending ---- very rich students, for one. And those very rich that Biden and others are afraid of sucking up those monies and not helping the poor?
Don't worry about them --- they don't have student debt anyway.
Don't worry about them --- they don't have student debt anyway.
Seriously.
Those really rich students? Their parents paid for their educations. Or their grandparents did. They graduated with no loans, and their post-college lives are fundamentally different from their peers.
If the money was there in the family, it was ALREADY spent.
Those really rich students? Their parents paid for their educations. Or their grandparents did. They graduated with no loans, and their post-college lives are fundamentally different from their peers.
If the money was there in the family, it was ALREADY spent.
Who the hell is going to take out loans and accrue interest if Grandpa can toss in $25K a year for four years? Or if the money was set aside 18 years ago and piled up interest in a trust? Seriously, don't worry about those kids. They're fine.
So, they're not in the pool.
What I guess we're more worried about is a big chunky white middle that has enough money to live well and have lots of advantages, but not enough to pay for college out of pocket, right? That group?
What I guess we're more worried about is a big chunky white middle that has enough money to live well and have lots of advantages, but not enough to pay for college out of pocket, right? That group?
Don't worry about them.
Seriously.
Okay, you've got some country club kids who are everything that are maddening, and they piled up $160K in debt by attending a chi-chi liberal arts college, treating it like a 4-year vacation, and they have degrees in communications.
Seriously.
Okay, you've got some country club kids who are everything that are maddening, and they piled up $160K in debt by attending a chi-chi liberal arts college, treating it like a 4-year vacation, and they have degrees in communications.
Annoying? Sure. Don't want to spend money on them? I get it.
But it's not just them.
Because here's part of it --- those elite colleges? They also aggressively recruit a certain percentage of other students --- poor people of color.
But it's not just them.
Because here's part of it --- those elite colleges? They also aggressively recruit a certain percentage of other students --- poor people of color.
And those kids are also walking away from that snooty college with $160K in debt. I hope with more than a communications degree, but possibly not. Some of them don't even get the degree, just the debt.
Why are those students there? Well, because schools realize that it really isn't a good idea for your classes to look like a Connecticut country club in the '70s. It's bad, in a PR sense and also if you find yourself on the receiving end of a discrimination lawsuit.
There are also plenty of administration people who also truly believe that education is the answer to the achievement gap, and that by bringing in underserved populations they can make a difference.
Problem is this --- those students get *some* tuition grants, but not all.
Problem is this --- those students get *some* tuition grants, but not all.
Mostly, they get government loans. And colleges LOVE those government loans, because they are USA backed and can be counted on for four years. And the students who have been targeted and wooed are told that, don't worry about that price tag, you will get government loans!
Low-interest, beautiful government loans! And you can attend this lovely college, and get a degree, and make more money than your worked-to-the-bone parents ever earned.
But here's the problem -- those loans will be absolute stones around their necks for thirty years.
But here's the problem -- those loans will be absolute stones around their necks for thirty years.
And, *again*, the graduation rates of those students is lower than the general population for SO MANY reasons, and that could be a massive thread in itself. Short version: they are in a very uncomfortable environment -- financially, socially, emotionally. Stuff happens.
So, anyway, $50K of forgiveness hits the population group that the Democrats want, even when you also include those "elite" colleges.
And, circling back over to our hypothetical Chet with $160K in debt, with his financially-super-comfortable family and his white privilege? Well, I know you don't like spending $50K on him, but it will also help America as a whole for Chet to be less burdened by student debt.
