“The abuse of buying and selling votes crept in and money began to play an important part in determining elections. Later on, this process of corruption spread to the law courts. And then to the army, and finally the Republic was subjected to the rule of emperors” – Plutarch
The Democrat party, having carefully honed a reputation as advocates for the working class, has made crystal clear its disdain for inequality and the continuing gap between the rich and the poor. Yet, unsurprisingly, it looks like their actions are about to speak louder than their words. After destroying, by some estimates, nearly 40 percent of small businesses, which were deemed non-essential during the COVID pandemic, Americans are now dealing with record inflation drastically increasing the costs of staples like groceries and gas. So, where are the progressives looking to provide aid? To college graduates and some of the highest income earners in the country.
Based on a 2020 report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, median weekly earnings for employees under the age of 25 show degreed employees earn significantly more than the working class. At the top are individuals with master’s degrees who earn on average a weekly $1545 or double the amount of a worker with a high school diploma, who earns just $781. Those with bachelor’s degrees earn around $1305 per week, a full 67 percent more than their degreeless neighbors. Forgiving the debt of the highest-earning workers will extend the gap between the rich and the poor, not close it.
The National Center for Education Statistics found the average debt in 2019 was $28,950 for undergraduate degrees and $71,000 for graduate degrees. Graduate degree holders (masters, PhDs, and MBA’s), while just one-quarter of all student debt holders, carry more than half of all loan debt. In fact, based on a report by the left-leaning Brookings Institute, top-income earners carry 60 percent of student loan debt, while low-income earners hold less than 20 percent.
A college education has been increasingly sold as the only way for Americans to meet life’s goals. Not only will a degree provide an advantage in employment opportunities, but it will also result in a significant increase in salary and fewer chances for unemployment. But attending college isn’t the utopia, it is so often claimed to be. Having bought the college myth, many students more suited to trade school opted instead for a 4-year degree. Unfortunately, based on statistics from the Department of Education, 57 percent of those students who took out a college loan, failed to graduate. Saddled with debt and no degree, they are worse off than they would have been if they had gone directly into the workforce following high school.
The problem with student debt was worsened when loans first became backed by the federal government. These guaranteed loans resulted in an increased supply of college students. When loans are guaranteed by a third party, colleges take advantage and raise their prices. And why not, colleges receive their money upfront, directly from taxpayer-backed loans, while students are stuck with the loan on the back end. Then, to cover the corresponding soaring costs, politicians convinced the public that private lenders were the greedy culprits. So, in 2010, President Obama removed the federal backing of loans to private lenders forcing all loans to originate from the Department of Education. With an increase in the supply of college students, also came an increase in the amount of debt. By 2021, cumulative student loan debt reached 1.7 trillion, an increase of more than 100 percent in the past 10 years alone.
With the feds having shifted loans into their own hands, it gave them the ability to politically manipulate debt holders, not only without consequence but also through faux generosity. Now, with the high cost of college making a college degree less advantageous, Democrats are calling for the forgiveness of student loans for nearly 45 million people. The very people who wanted the government in charge of loans are now demanding to be let out of their contractual obligations. And despite college degree holders earning the highest incomes, there are no attempts to use any criteria, or measurements, to weed them out. Nor are the poor feeling the brunt of student loans, as the Department of Education already has hundreds of programs for assisting low-income and minority students. Most importantly, there are no efforts to fix the problems that result in increasing student loan debt. Perhaps the government wishes to hold this little gem in its pocket for future vote-buying?
To end this practice and restore student lending to its proper function there needs to be a return to private lending markets, and an end to all guaranteed government loans. By doing so, loans would immediately be issued based on the student’s ability to repay, as there would once again be a direct consequence to private lenders who make bad loans. Loans would also be determined based on the employability of the major area of study, eliminating the growing interest in junk degrees, like gender studies and gay underwater basket-weaving. Student debt, which was previously dischargeable under bankruptcy, would again be treated as all loans.
With President Biden’s approval ratings sinking into the low 30s, and Elon Musk threatening to return free speech to Twitter, the Democrats are heading into the 2022 midterm elections in deep despair over losing their grip on the political narrative. With the college-educated continuing to make up a significant portion of their dwindling base, shameless vote-buying is all they have left. The working class has no more allies in the Democrat party. Let’s hope they got the message.
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