Margaret Thatcher once said, in reference to socialists, “I think they’ve made the biggest financial mess that any government’s ever made in this country for a very long time, and Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people’s money. It’s quite a characteristic of them…They’re now trying to control everything by other means. They’re progressively reducing the choice available to ordinary people.”
The best American president regarding domestic affairs, Calvin Coolidge, said in response to a past attempt to erase a debt owed the US government, “They hired the money, didn’t they?” Just so.
In an Orwellian parody of those quotes, the two last Biden administration socialist financial moves, the laughably named “Inflation Reduction Act” and now student loan forgiveness, will add over $1,000,000,000.00 in debt over the course of their terms. All of it will be paid for by the American taxpayers. Other people’s money indeed.
But let’s not kid ourselves. The US government has been passing out goodies like this to everyone since the 1930s. Student loans below interest rates? Who do you think is making up the difference? You are, even as you think the loans are a government benefit. The Covid stimulus payments? Did that money fall from trees? Uh, no. All the little breaks and perks all economic classes in America have been accustomed to for almost 90 years have come right out of your pocket, a bit put back into your pocket to give you the illusion of benefit, then taken out again in higher taxes, runaway spending, and inflation. All by government at all levels that we as a people have elected to office.
Government has been the pusher and we have been the junkies in an endless merry go around of give and take that ultimately only benefits the government class.
Not saying that all government spending is corrupt. Proper state spending for defense, infrastructure, the legal system, and for providing for those who can’t take care of themselves is the price of civilization. However, we’ve gone way past that.
There is no inherent right to a college education or to health care or to a job or to happiness. Pursuit of those by your own efforts? Fine and laudable. But to make someone else pay for them? Theft, outright robbery. Welcome to government in America, as a parasitic statist class feeds off of a private sector host.
Through a system of cozy campaign contributions many who owe pay no taxes and others receive high pay and perks from the very people whose campaign coffers they fill. The relationship between teachers unions and Dem politicians is a case in point.
But it’s just not them. A plethora of duties and services that used to be executed by the community or churches have for some time been transferred to social service bureaucrats who have a perverse incentive to keep crises boiling. After all, no poverty? No welfare officials. No student loans and then forgiveness of such? Students might make smarter decisions about their education and not be at the mercy of government to pay off their debts to colleges who offer useless majors and political indoctrination.
And now, with the student loan money for nothing, the floodgates are open. Students will flock to loans, knowing a Dem administration down the line with cancel the debt. Not only will it injure the economy, but it will reinforce the get something for nothing attitude prevalent with so many Americans. Eventually, that attitude will have grave existential consequences. When it does, our children and grandchildren will rightfully damn us for our irresponsible way of government.