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Star Parker

Founder & President, Center for Urban Renewal and Education

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Biden’s take on student loans a big step backward for our nation

Jul 21, 2023

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President Biden’s first student loan forgiveness plan lasted just 10 months, and then the Supreme Court shut it down. His new repayment plan — to use the Higher Education Act (HEA) — will cost the government $475 billion over the next decade, according to a new economic projection, surpassing the $400 billion cost of the plan that the Supreme Court rejected in June.

Straight Arrow News contributor Star Parker argues Biden’s take on student loan forgiveness ignores personal responsibility and represents a great step backward for our nation.

Each and every one of us must decide what kind of future we want. What’s for our children? Are we really gonna allow our students to say, “Hey, I can go into high school and do a little bit of nothing, get into any college I want to, borrow the money from the government taxpayers, and then not pay it back. Go then to work and not do anything of significance and then sue the employer if he actually tells me that I have to be productive.”

What happened to the basic values and principles that built our great country? That’s what we need to ask ourselves as we go prepare to hear all of the rhetoric of this next election cycle, and then decide what kind of country do we want to be.

Free student loans are tempting. Oh, it sounds great to go into your neighbor’s pocket. But freedom sounds greater. And that’s what’s really at stake. And if we can understand that much, then we can understand our path forward, a magnificent path forward in the grand tapestry of our nation’s future.

In the grand tapestry of our nation’s future, education will always be a centerpiece. And when you’re talking about student loans, that’s what you’re talking about the future of our workforce, where 38% of millennials have a bachelor’s degree, now wish that more of those millennials have degrees in skilled jobs, such as welding or mechanics, instead of gender studies. But that’s another discussion for another time. Student loans are also a discussion about the future of our nation’s economy. That’s why we must address it. Specifically, when that discussion is centered on forgiveness of those student loans, we must have a discussion. When mass cancellation of these loans come into play, then you’re talking about complete rewriting of the entire system of colleges and universities. So if student loans touch on all these areas of our future, then what is the future of student loans? I hope it is one a personal responsibility where each individual is able to reach for a better life, the American Dream through hard work, dedication, merit, and not be given those rewards for three one offs that are on the backs of others, the hard working individual who who didn’t need college to get ahead who didn’t go to college who couldn’t even afford to go to college, but whose taxes are funding these college loans for students. And now they’re supposed to be just free.

Even though the United States Supreme Court recently struck down President Biden’s massive student loan forgiveness scheme, Biden has made it clear that he’s not gonna stop. He didn’t care it was unconstitutional, his administration immediately finalized a new repayment plan for student loans in which they proudly boast in quotes, many borrowers will not have to make monthly payments under this plan.

I wish my mortgage company would send me something like that, after Congress recently forced President Biden to stop delaying these payments saying enough is enough. We’re not still in a pandemic emergency, and you must restart these payments. This October, Biden announced a 12 month off ramp saying no, you don’t have to basically say and folks don’t pay. God got another 12 months of just go for, don’t worry, there’ll be no consequences against you. If you don’t pay.

Your car payment company would say that hmm. Is at this point, that is important to state the facts, the facts that are fundamentally true in America, all of us are bound by the Constitution, everyone, even the president, especially the president, and we take out a loan, we should pay it back. But the President openly defies the Constitution openly defies the United States Supreme Court openly defies Congress openly defies you as a taxpayer. Then I have to ask you again, what is the future of student loans? Don’t forget that this is $400 billion

of student loan forgiveness. Students take out these loans owe it to the government. And now he said, Nope, don’t have to pay it. We all know that this was just a blatant election grab for 2022 for those midterms. I mean, seriously, why else? Do you think Biden announced the whole thing two months before that election, and we have an election next year, then I’m pretty sure will be even more important to President Biden and his administration. Because these Democrats don’t stop going into other people’s pockets. This one, each and every one of us must decide what kind of future we want. What’s for our children? Are we really gonna allow our students to say, hey, I can go into high school and do a little bit of nothing, get into any college, I want to borrow the money from the government taxpayers, and then not pay it back, go then the work and not do anything of significance and then sue the employer if he actually tells me that I have to be productive? What happened to the basic values and principles that built our great country? That’s what we need to ask ourselves as we go prepare to hear all of the rhetoric of this next election cycle, and then decide what kind of country do we want to be free student loans are tempting, Oh, it sounds great to go into your neighbor’s pocket. But freedom sounds greater. And that’s what’s really at stake. And if we can understand that much, then we can understand our path forward, a magnificent path forward in the grand tapestry of our nation’s future.

 

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