- Forum Clout
- 118,963
George W Bush signed it into law but it was passed by a Democrat house and senate, at a time when the Democrats were still much more “Republican” (also signed into law in 2007…consider not only the contexts of those times from the incoming economic recession to the general culture, wages, and economic conditions.)
It’s corny, but extreme times call for extreme measures. The idea of wiping student debts out entirely with very low qualifications would have been laughed at in the congress of the 2000’s. But it’s extremely clear from what i remember reading about it: Cancelling student debts entirely benefits the economy and society quicker. You can argue that putting people to work (or incentivizing work in the government sectors) increases the economy as well. The argument is that it’s not as direct, and student debts are too big for people to become teachers or DMV clerks for 10 years just to get their debts paid off. Furthermore, I remember in high school a lot of my teachers freaking out that if Trump were elected he would repeal the program entirely. Would it happen? Who knows, but the idea that it can immediately makes the purpose it’s supposed to be null: Why work for 10 years as say, a teacher, when you don’t know if the next guy in 4 years will make that work for nothing?
It truly is, to me, an investment in our country and our people more than any other “welfare” thing we could do. These aren’t lazy bums, they’re people who went to school for years. Their “crime” is agreeing into (necessary) overpriced loans with compounding interest rates.
