Erick-Woods Erickson
Democrats claim the GOP is the authoritarian party while trying to keep the GOP’s preferred presidential candidate off ballots in multiple states through non-democratic means.
They also bellyache about the GOP as the party of the rich while trying to secure a state and local tax deduction (SALT) for rich people in New York and California.
Now, the President has claimed to find a way around the Supreme Court’s decision that prevented him from unilaterally forgiving student loans up to $20,000.00. This time, it will be for a small pool of people at a smaller amount through federal student loan programs for which he has more discretion.
And if the courts stop him again, he will blame them.
People with college degrees have higher long-term earnings and lower unemployment.
Democrats complain about the “wealth gap” and “income gap” in the United States pretty vocally. Here, they are using taxpayer dollars from those without college degrees in a class of people with higher unemployment and lower long-term earnings potential to pay off the student loans of their social betters.
The Democrats claim that they are not using anyone else’s money to do this, but of course, the federal government is funded by the American taxpayer. Forgiving loans of the college-educated will take the tax dollars of every American — most of whom do not have college degrees — to offset those debts.
Not only is this not a sound economic policy, but it will undoubtedly incentivize colleges to keep raising tuition with a precedent set that the federal government will cover the cost of the tuition through loan forgiveness.
This is a cynical ploy by the President to buy the votes of young voters who have turned against him.
Republicans should propose that, if elected, they will treat the loan forgiveness as income and retroactively tax those who benefit. The small number of the elite, most of them progressives who want higher taxes anyway, will surely be OK with that. If not, who cares?
In the meantime, to placate this small group of mostly progressive young voters, Democrats have expanded the income gap. The cost of being an American without a college degree is increasingly that you must carry the burden for the progressive elite’s ideals. You must give up your truck for a battery-powered car. You must give up your dependable refrigerator for a high-efficiency model you do not want. You must surrender a reliable water heater for a new one that does not last as long. You must surrender your dishwasher for one that takes twice as long. You must surrender your life and livelihood so the progressive elite can eat their cake while demanding you give up beef for synthetically engineered impossible animals. If you do not, Greta Thunberg will scowl and the feds will put you on a list somewhere to watch you.
