This will be a departure — a digression, if you will — from our normally local topics of conversation for a Saturday morning. It’s what some might call a little “barstool politics,” which I take to mean the kind of things guys and gals might discuss while partaking of adult refreshments. All because, quite frankly, there are some rants I just have to rant about. In fact, my first draft created quite a lengthy rant, so we will go with just one topic that makes me grumpy:
One of my favorite quotes comes from columnist George Will: “No matter how deeply you distrust the government’s judgement, you are too trusting.”
Exhibit A: Fort Wayne based columnist Leo Morris ranted on this page last week about the proposals to expand the student-loan forgiveness efforts. He ranks it as the “worst federal government scheme in my lifetime.” I have likewise been grinding my teeth.
Most of my wife’s wages were put aside for years for our sons’ college funds. That was supplemented with occasionally dipping into our home equity line of credit and by them with hard-earned scholarships, summer jobs and some student loans which they paid off. Yet the proponents of forgiveness see absolutely no reason to apologize or even recognize why people like us may be a bit aggravated. Leo’s lament was that he enlisted for three years of military service in order to qualify for the GI Bill’s educational benefits. He’d like three years of his youth back.
So while I was stewing on that and maybe beginning to calm down again, an email arrived in my in-box Tuesday. It was from some bureaucrat seeking the assistance of the media in getting the word out that the U.S. Department of Education “has now approved approximately $6.8 billion in discharges for more than 113,000 borrowers through the limited PSLDF waiver, with an average discharge balance of approximately $60,000 per borrower.”
Note that it is “limited” to just $6.8 billion. It’s all relative in Washington. And by the way, this program is only for “public service employees” — yet another benefit those in the private sector do not, apparently, “deserve.”
Read on.
The bureaucrat’s request was for the media to help “spread the word … encourage borrowers to (visit the government website) for the most up-to date information and learn what steps they may need to take to get the life-changing loan forgiveness they deserve.” (Emphasis mine.)
She concluded her email with “Please let me know if you have any questions.”
“Yes, I have a question,” I replied. “What exactly have these people done to deserve loan forgiveness?”
Believe it or not, she answered, providing a link to a document that “describes loan forgiveness eligibility” under the program.
I couldn’t help myself. “There is a difference between being ‘eligible’ and being ‘deserving,’” I responded. “Obviously you do not understand that.”
(There is, methinks, a sermon in there somewhere. But indeed, I do digress.)
Exhibit B: The Department of Homeland Security recently announced a new initiative called the “Disinformation Governance Board” which will apparently advise us as to what is real and what is (I hate this phrase) fake news.
It is hard to fathom that anyone in a position of authority would even contemplate such a concept right out of George Orwell and not expect some sort of kickback. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the board will be “apolitical.” How dumb do they think we are? Is there anything in Washington that is apolitical?
No matter how deeply you distrust the government’s judgement, you are too trusting.
I probably ought to slide silently from my bar stool and have my designated driver take me home.
miller@news-banner.com
