• UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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    26 days ago

    Certainly nice that Biden has come around to enforcing the full provisions of the original 1994 law granting public service workers loan forgiveness (which was then amended several times under Bush and Obama). But the headline seems to suggest he’s personally responsible for these loan cancellations, when he’s simply no longer trying to tie the loan forgiveness up in bureaucracy like under prior administrations.

    Incidentally, a big overhaul of the student loan forgiveness program was advanced back in 2021, when Democrats had full control of both branches of Congress. But it was killed in a pair of Democrat controlled committees under VA-3’s Robert C. Scott and MA-1’s Richard Neals.

    • Makeitstop@lemmy.world
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      26 days ago

      The coverage is infuriating. It would be like having headlines about Biden sending checks out to millions of households (and media like Fox News calling it an expensive handout) when tax refunds start going out every year.

      We shouldn’t be treating it as special and noteworthy when the executive branch faithfully executes the laws. Instead, we should be focusing on how fucked up it is that the previous administration ignored the law and its constitutional duty in order to pointlessly screw over people.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        26 days ago

        We shouldn’t be treating it as special and noteworthy when the executive branch faithfully executes the laws.

        “Biden reverses out Trump policy of denying claims under the Public Direct Loans Act” would have made for a far more accurate, more compelling, and more politically engaging headline. Sadly, we’re going to pretend he’s just doing a Debt Jubilee out of the goodness of his heart, rather than fulfilling the terms of the contract that lenders agreed to when they took lower-paying public sector jobs for 5-10 years.

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        26 days ago

        . It would be like having headlines about Biden sending checks out to millions of households (and media like Fox News calling it an expensive handout) when tax refunds start going out every year.

        It is not like this at all. Please educate yourself on this topic. If you actually give a shit.

        • Makeitstop@lemmy.world
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          26 days ago

          Your comment contributes nothing of value.

          Why should I give more of a shit about your argument than you do? You can’t be bothered to explain what your assertion is, but I’m supposed to go “educate” myself? Even if it was reasonable for me to drop everything to go do research on a topic to figure out what your point is supposed to be, there’s no way for me to ever know that I found the specific thing you’re talking about.

          • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            25 days ago

            It’s not my job to fill in the gaps of your education, Internet stranger.

            Maybe that’s your problem, you’re going to internet forums to learn new things.

            • Makeitstop@lemmy.world
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              25 days ago

              But it is your job to post this shit?

              And I like to learn new things wherever I go. I would think that a lot of people browsing the news and politics sections of a link sharing site would be hoping to learn something. And the comments are often full of additional information which can be quite valuable.

              Of course, not everyone is interested in engaging in discussion and the free exchange of ideas. Some people just get off on petty bickering and being assholes to others. And you’ve managed to distill that into its purest form, removing any actual content from the argument and leaving only the hostility and smug sense of superiority.

              “You’re wrong!”

              “About what?”

              “Oh, wouldn’t you like to know…”

              We’re here in the great information orgy, and you’re just staring in a mirror jacking off.

              • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                24 days ago

                But it is your job to post this shit?

                Pardon?

                So I can only post things if I’m being paid for it? You seem confused…

    • BMTea@lemmy.world
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      26 days ago

      A necessary comment like this would never make it in the awful Reddit version of this sub. This place feels like the real Reddit I used to use before 2016.

    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      26 days ago

      Pretty disingenuous to suggest that the Biden Administration hasn’t been working hard to cut through the bullshit red tape those previous administrations created to erase this debt.

      They took it to the goddamn Supreme Court. The Biden Administration. I know that wasn’t for PSLF specifically, but they’re inextricably related.

      And then to blame Biden for the votes of two no name reps?

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        26 days ago

        Biden Administration hasn’t been working hard to cut through the bullshit red tape those previous administrations

        In several cases, he’s been contributing to it. Biden has routinely promised reform through paths he knew in advance to be dead-ends - fighting pitched battles in court and advocating hopeless charges through the legislature. Meanwhile, he left more straightforward paths to debt forgiveness underutilized. Specifically, the provisions within the 1965 Higher Education Act grants a presidential administration, via the Education Secretary, authority to “enforce, pay, compromise, waive, or release” government-held federal student loans. The Higher Education Act provided the authority for President Donald Trump and Biden to pause student loan debt payments during the coronavirus pandemic.

        They took it to the goddamn Supreme Court.

        They could have simply struck the debt from the record and allowed Republicans to try and reinstate it. Instead, Biden’s bureaucrats dragged their heels, allowing the Fifth Circuit to predictably hold up the decision and the six-vote SCOTUS to quash their efforts.

        And then to blame Biden for the votes of two no name reps?

        Two committee chairmen. One of whom was the head of the Ways and Means Committee, second only to Appropriations as the most influential committee in the House.