11/18/2024

Joe is breaking the law again. If you make a loan you pay it off and this is not setting a good example of the younger folks – it is not fair.

But that is why he was so crooked and lawless. He didn’t respect the fact the money was not his but the taxpayers. Just a politician who always thought the money/power was his. Just a bully!

Biden Forgives Over $166 Billion in Student Loan Debt

ttps://dailynewscycle.com/biden-forgives-over-166-billion-in-student-loan-debt/

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Despite strong opposition from Republicans and multiple court rulings blocking his plans, President Joe Biden has continued to push forward with his goal of canceling federal student loan debt. Since he took office, Biden has managed to erase approximately $166.5 billion in federal student loans through a range of relief programs, a move that has sparked both praise and frustration across the political spectrum.

While many borrowers celebrate this financial relief, critics argue that the policy favors certain demographics and question its fairness to U.S. taxpayers, particularly those who have already paid off their student loans or never attended college.

Since his first days in office, Biden has set out to expand access to education by tackling student debt, a burden that affects millions of Americans. His approach has relied on enhancing existing debt relief programs rather than pursuing widespread loan forgiveness, which was blocked by the Supreme Court in 2023. However, by maximizing the effectiveness of existing programs, Biden has still managed to deliver targeted relief to millions of borrowers.

In a recent announcement in October, Biden proudly shared that his administration had canceled an additional $4.5 billion in student debt owed by more than 60,000 public sector employees through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The PSLF program, designed to forgive loans for those who work in public service for at least 10 years, had previously benefited only a limited number of borrowers before the Biden administration overhauled the system. Under his leadership, more than a million borrowers working in public service have now had their debts erased through the program.

Biden also highlighted the significant progress made in expanding various other programs, which have helped nearly 5 million borrowers receive relief. “From day one of my Administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” he said, vowing to continue his efforts “no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us.”

Through several Department of Education initiatives, Biden’s team has provided approximately $166.5 billion in debt forgiveness to around 4.4 million borrowers, with an average cancellation of $38,207 per borrower. But the distribution of relief varies widely across states, with certain regions receiving more extensive relief.

Notably, Democratic-leaning states and regions with a high percentage of college-educated voters saw the largest impact from these efforts. The District of Columbia, for example, led the nation with more than $806 million in loans canceled for over 15,000 borrowers, resulting in an average forgiveness of more than $52,000 per borrower. Following D.C., Vermont, Maryland, New York, and South Carolina rounded out the top states with the highest average relief per borrower.

Republican lawmakers and conservative groups have raised objections to Biden’s student debt forgiveness efforts, arguing that they unfairly benefit a relatively small segment of the population while ignoring the financial obligations of millions of other Americans. They point out that student loan debt forgiveness does not address those burdened by other types of debt, such as credit card or medical debt.

In response to Biden’s persistence in forgiving student loans, multiple federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have ruled against some of his initiatives, blocking sweeping forgiveness programs on grounds that they exceed executive authority. GOP leaders argue that Biden’s approach effectively bypasses Congress, which holds the constitutional power over federal spending.

While Biden has acknowledged the limitations imposed by these court decisions, he has consistently found ways to work within the scope of existing Department of Education programs to continue relieving student debt. These targeted forgiveness measures have allowed him to sidestep some legal hurdles, though they remain highly controversial among his opponents.

The debate around Biden’s debt forgiveness efforts centers largely on fairness. Critics say that forgiving student debt without offering similar relief for other types of debt unfairly benefits college graduates, a demographic that generally leans Democratic. The policy has drawn sharp criticism from those who view it as a partisan maneuver that rewards a specific voter base while leaving many other Americans behind.

However, supporters argue that student debt relief is essential for economic mobility and that Biden’s efforts will have long-term benefits for the U.S. economy. They say that canceling student loans allows borrowers to pursue career advancement, homeownership, and other financial goals without the burden of overwhelming debt.

Despite facing obstacles, Biden’s administration continues to push for ways to address student debt through the federal system. His persistence in pursuing debt relief has become a defining feature of his presidency, underscoring his commitment to reshaping higher education financing.

With President-elect Donald Trump set to take office in a few months, it remains uncertain whether Biden’s student debt relief measures will be expanded or rolled back. Trump has criticized Biden’s student loan forgiveness efforts in the past and may seek to curtail these programs once he takes office.

As the debate over student loan forgiveness continues, Biden’s actions have drawn attention to the broader challenges of financing higher education in the United States. Whether future administrations will continue his debt relief measures or pursue alternative approaches to make education more affordable remains to be seen, but the issue is sure to remain central to American politics for years to come.

kommonsentsjane

11/18/2024

Election winners and losers (Part 2)

ttps://punchingbagpost.com/election-winners-and-losers-part-2

A recent commentary dealt with winners and losers in the recent election.  I left out a couple of the biggest losers.

Loser: Pollsters.

When discussing the pollsters undercounting Trump’s vote in both 2016 and 2020, MSNBC’s numbers guru Steve Kornacki noted that they never made that same mistake three times in a row.  Going into Election Day, the question was whether they would get it right this time  – or even overcompensate by undercounting the Harris vote.  As it turned out, the pollsters set a new record by yet again undercounting the Trump vote.

Pollsters did not miss by a mile, but by a yard.  They told us that the election was razor thin – within the margin of error.  Based on polling data it was impossible to know which candidate would win each of the battleground states – and which would emerge victorious. Would Trump win in the Electoral College but lose the popular vote?  After all, every poll over many months indicated that Trump had a ceiling in the mid-40 percentile.

While still in the margin-of-error, most polls showed Harris with a very slight lead in the most important battleground states.  And we can recall that Iowa vote that gave Harris a 3-point lead in Hawkeye State.  Trump won Iowa by 3 points. Based on polling data for the battleground states, it was Harris who would likely win in the Electoral College.

So, what happened.

First of all, Trump won.  He won the popular vote, and he won by a wide margin in the Electoral College with 312 votes to Harris’ 226.  Trump won 50.5 percent of the popular vote to Harris’ 48.0 percent.  That was close enough to give pollsters some. credibility with the big picture, but it is the state-by-state breakdown where we see the pollsters’ failure

Obviously, Trump did better in the battleground states than polls suggested.  Pew Research had Harris up or tied in five of the seven battleground states. Trump won in all seven.  But the real story in Trump’s winning the popular vote is seen in the bluest of the blue states.

In New York, Trump lost by 23 points in 2020.  This year he cut that margin by half, losing by only 12 points. In 2020, he lost California by 29 points.  This year, by 18.  Trump lost New Jersey by 16 points in 2020, and only 5 points in 2024.  In Illinois, he closed a 17 point gap to only 9 points.  In both Maryland and Massachusetts, Trump closed a 2020 gap of 33 points to 24 points.

At one point on election night, CNN’s John King pulled up a map of every county in which Trump improved his vote by at least 3 points.  The graphic was a sea of red, with Trump improving in the vast majority of American counties. King then pulled up a map of the counties in which Harris had a 3 percent or more improvement over the Biden/Harris ticket in 2020.  There was not one.  Not even a county in her home state of California.  Not even in her hometown of Oakland.

Trump’s victory was overwhelming, and the pollsters missed it … again.

Loser: Left-wing media.

Bias in the media is not new.  Historically, newspapers have been known as conservative or liberal – Republican or Democrat.  In times past, they even reflected their bias in the name of the publication – such as the Little Rock, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the Springfield, Massachusetts Republican.  However, that bias was generally reserved for the editorial page.

In the disruptive days of the 1960’s a new form of journalism was introduced in many of the major J-schools.  It was called “advocacy journalism” in which reporters were encouraged to put their own political opinions and biases into news stories.  That was the slippery slope that culminated in what we have today – major media outlets becoming the communications platforms for political establishments.  In addition to reporting the news, the contemporary left- and right-wing media attempts to influence elections and policy.  Since most of the major news media personnel and personalities are progressive Democrats, the industry has tilted significantly to the left.

The left lean of the legacy media has become so pronounced that many major news platforms have essentially become strategic allies of the Democratic Party – and the progressive establishment.  It has had a negative impact on the Fourth Estate’s reputation.   According to a recent Gallup poll, approximately 70 percent of Americans distrust the news media.  That is a worse number than the politicians the new media covers.

MSNBC has been hit particularly hard.  Since Election Day, the far left propaganda station has suffered a 31 percent drop in viewership – and a 54 percent drop in primetime viewership.  In the same period, FOX News viewership jumped by 61 percent.

Media bias was bad enough in 2016 and 2020, but it spiraled out of the margins of reason and reality in 2024.  News outlets, such as MSNBC, the New York Times and the Washington Post, abandoned even the appearance of balance and fairness.  They censored or limited coverage of conservative viewpoints.  And even worse, they propagated the absurdly false propaganda narratives of insurrections, fascism, coup attempts, civil war, political violence, a looming dictatorship and the end of the American Republic.

The left-leaning media took a major hit today.  The disdain – bordering on contempt – of the American people has always had left-wing media failing to find audiences.  Conservative talk shows and podcasts dominate because most Americans reject progressive propaganda parading as news or commentary. 

You will recall that the left launched Air America as a left-wing network.  It failed.  They recruited two former governors – New York’s Mario Cuomo and Texas’ Ann Richards – for a national talk show.  It failed.  They even tried to resurrect the old Phil Donahue Show.  That failed, too. 

The left-wing media is among the big losers in this election because their efforts to force public opinion and influence the vote failed miserably.  Imagine that.  All that effort to convince voters that Trump was a Hitler-style fascist who would literally end the American Republic and all future elections – and more than half of the great American public elected him.  They saw through the lies and false campaign narratives.

If the most damaged members of the Fourth Estate want to regain public confidence, the first step will be a shake-up – bringing in new writers and editors … new shows … new hosts … new panelists.  And a return to reporting news in a fair and balanced manner.

The left-wing political establishment that was rejected by the voters includes the media, whether they know it or not.  If they do not realize that – and fail to make the necessary changes – the public will continue to show its preference for more balance and more traditional journalism.  And the left-wing media will continue to lose.

Judging from the post-election reporting by the left-leaning media, they are too arrogant to learn a lesson.  I suspect they will continue to land on the loser side of the winner/loser lists.

So, there ‘tis.

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kommonsentsjane