Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Not sure why you think Democrats would fight this to the death.
On the debt jubilee thing, the government would pay the cost, because it's a taking. If the government were going to pay that much, is that the best way to spend it?
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It needn't be structured as a taking. Structure it as a five year amendment to the bankruptcy code allowing poor people meeting certain debt to income ratios to file bankruptcy and discharge all unsecured debt, renegotiate all secured debt, including mortgages, and entirely wipe out:
1. 100% of delinquent medical debt for non-elective procedures/care;
2. Up to 1/2 of non-grad school student loan debt involving accredited institutions;
3. 100% of student loan debt involving for-profit schools; and,
4. 100% of all non-grad school private lender student loans.
I'm not going to get into the weeds on how this can be done. There are literally endless rule tweaks and adjustments which could effect this result. But the aim should simply be to cancel almost all outstanding medical and student loan debt for poor people.
Democrats, most notably Schumer, would fight this alongside Republicans tooth and nail because it would hammer certain investors. Which is true. This concept would provide a financial opportunity to indebted people of modest means at cost to some investors. The cry against it would be, "You're stealing from pensioners!"
I'd say it's more stealing from rentiers.
You and I know all the economic arguments for transferring from Wall Street and pensioners to a demographic of poor people that skews somewhat younger (they spend it!). But that wouldn't deter Schumer and McConnell from serving the interests of those who fatten their campaign coffers by painting such a plan as theft from the old and weak. And that's why none of this will ever happen.
ETA: Oh, and a universal income will never happen because... Socialism!!!!!
ETA2: One other thing that would help ease a lot of the financial burden in this country would be to put a $10k per year cap on fed backed non-grad school student loans. Radically cut that revenue stream for higher education and you'll see the totally unjustifiable tuition increases collapse almost overnight. That'd increase retirement savings for parents enormously, easing the retirement crisis the country is facing.
