Election payola update: Student loan pay-off going where?

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Here you probably thought it was meant to help folks on their way to being savvy savers, right? Making an earnest attempt to be fiscally responsible with the sudden windfall which has alleviated financial pressure on them. Who doesn’t love second chances?!

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As Putin would say, “Nyet.”

Seems most of your hard-earned cash is going out on the town for cocktails and dinner, my friends.

As with ballot tallying in Arizona, I don’t believe this was the intention to begin with, but it’s probably baked into the system now.

Any day now, federal student loan borrowers throughout the U.S. could see their balances reduced by up to $20,000 thanks to President Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan. The administration is waiting on a green light from a federal judge to actually start reducing balances, but still says applicants can expect good news in the coming weeks.

While recipients won’t see that aid in the form of a check, any remaining balances will be re-amortized, meaning monthly payments will be recalculated to reflect the new balance. For borrowers, that means monthly payments could drop by up to $300 per month.

Up to three hundred extra bucks a month? That can knock out a bunch of stuff if applied judiciously, or simply help out with Bidenflation-aggravated energy bills or food. Pick your poison – it’s not an insignificant amount. Put to wise use, it pays returns on itself in saved interest charges and peace of mind. Well, would if one chose that route.

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Now. Pay close attention to the verbiage versus the figures here, and you’ll see where the problem is. I’ve highlighted them as well.

…That extra cash will be a much needed lifeline to cover other bills or necessary expenses for many. But some borrowers plan to spend the money more freely.

In fact, 73% of anticipated recipients say they expect to spend their debt forgiveness on non-essential items, including travel, dining out and new tech, according to a recent survey from Intelligent.com.

Now, I don’t know where the CNBC author went to school, but where I learned math, “some” ≠ 73%. That’s a pretty clear majority of folks who are going to take those reduced payments and do everything but secure a more comfortable future. No way would they think gratefully of a shot at further reducing what overhead they already have, thanks to the unsolicited beneficence of the American taxpayer. We were pretty upset already but should have expected more salt in the wound, all things considered.

The dangling of the payoffs may have paid off in last night’s events, too. Demographic breakdowns would suggest some correlation if my cynicism doesn’t lead me too far astray.

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It wasn’t all Lefty college professors tilting them over the edge – money handouts talk, especially to a couple of generations who have been brainwashed to believe $250K Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies degrees from Middlebury (or somewhere equally as tony and equally as pretentiously vacuous) are a thang.

You are welcome to freely sign your life away to attend such an institution and pursue said worthless sheepskin (if you even manage to complete the degree). What you are NOT welcome to do is have me help pay for it, lecture me how selfish I am for not caring a wit about your struggles and then toast yourself with the savings.

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John Sexton 5:30 PM | November 09, 2024
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