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Since Joe Biden announced his plan to cancel student debt, criticism has been pouring in from both sides of the political spectrum and one of the most recent came directly from Florida. Ron DeSantis took a shot at the president last Thursday, calling his plan unconstitutional and unfair.
The current occupant of the Oval Office plans to sign an executive order forgiving up to $10,000 per borrower and $20,000,000 for Pell Grant recipients. According to a non-partisan Wharton (University of Pennsylvania) analysis, his policy would cost $298 billion in 2022 and a total of $329 billion by 2031 if renewed every year.
Of course, the cost will fall inexorably on the backs of taxpayers across the country.
DeSantis on Biden’s student debt cancellation: “Biden does not have the constitutional authority to do this”
Against this backdrop, Governor DeSantis said that “it’s very unfair to have a truck driver have to pay back a loan for somebody that got like a PhD in gender studies. That’s not fair. That’s not right.”
“And then you also just have the fact like, if you’re going to talk about debt, then you should look at, okay, who has benefited the most from all this exorbitant debt that’s been taken out of the last generation? It’s the universities. They have bloated administrative budgets, they have all this, although in Florida, since I’ve been governor, no tuition increases at our state universities, we haven’t allowed that”, added the soon-to-be candidate for reelection next November.
It’s unfair to force a truck driver to pay a loan for someone who got a PhD in gender studies.
Taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill for student loan relief and Biden’s order isn’t constitutional.
If anything, universities handing out worthless degrees should be on the hook. pic.twitter.com/wZuH6GxPII
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) August 25, 2022
According to their study, Wharton also revealed that less than 32% of the funding would benefit Americans with the lowest two incomes, while 42% would benefit those earning more than $82,400 per year.
“If they’re (universities) producing people that went deep into debt, and their degree is not worth anything, and they’re not able to make enough money to pay it back. Well, then that’s on them. And they’ve had an incentive to get more and more loans taken out, and then put it in their pocket. So we should look at these universities”, DeSantis added regarding the underlying problem.
“What Biden is doing, it’s going to cause more inflation. You just had one of Obama’s economists come out and say, ‘This is the worst time to do this. It’s going to fuel inflation. This is not good policy.’ Biden does not have the constitutional authority to do this”, the Florida governor concluded.
Joaquín Núñez es licenciado en comunicación periodística por la Universidad Católica Argentina. Se especializa en el escenario internacional y en la política nacional norteamericana. Confeso hincha de Racing Club de Avellaneda. Contacto: [email protected] // Joaquín Núñez has a degree in journalistic communication from the Universidad Católica Argentina. He specializes in the international scene and national American politics. Confessed fan of Racing Club of Avellaneda. Contact: [email protected]