Wall Street, the real estate industry, and major banks contributed to the economic recession, and we are still recovering. The government incurred a major deficit to soften the blow and stimulate the economy. Now the government must start paying its debt – but how?
If you ask Sen. Manchin, it’s very simple: College students.
According to Sen. Manchin, government can and should reduce a part of the deficit by simply increasing the interest rates on student loans. In other words, we should stand idly by and let the government profit on the backs of students.
Manchin made this clear in Tuesday’s Banking Committee hearing:
I’m just saying you have to put your priorities where your values are.
The facts are overwhelming ... We’re talking about a financial program that doesn’t cost. We’re not subsidizing, were not asking someone to pay … Now can we find that balance …where we can keep the program alive but we still have taken the amount of profit out that it puts on the burden on the backs of productivity?
But there is a huge cost. The facts tell us we currently face a major student debt crisis. Federal loans are there to help students, not to raise money to pay for other government spending. Therefore, the government should not allow the interest rates to double when the program costs don’t justify the rate hike.
Clearly, Sen. Manchin has lost touch with college students – and he certainly shouldn’t be drafting proposals on student loan interest rates. Most importantly: a bad long-term deal is a lot worse than no deal at all. Click here to see video of Sen. Manchin’s statements.
Cross-posted at I AM NOT A LOAN.