Oh The Hypocrisy!!!

Posted on by under education, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Certain Republicans in Congress obviously believe that We the People are stupid.  The hue and cry over President Biden’s plan to forgive a portion of student loan debt for qualifying individuals is not only ludicrous, but insulting to the average Joe.  Take, for example, Congressman Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania who made this statement:

“Asking plumbers and carpenters to pay off the loans of Wall Street advisors and lawyers isn’t just unfair. It’s also bad policy.”

Apparently, either Mike Kelly hasn’t been paying attention, or he’s pretty sure his constituents aren’t bright enough to have been paying attention, for the student loan forgiveness is only available to people making less than $125,000 per year and both wall street advisors and lawyers earn well over that mark, so they wouldn’t be eligible.  Period.

Then there was ol’ Vern Buchanan, a member of the House of Representatives from Florida who said …

“As a blue-collar kid who worked his way through college, I know firsthand the sacrifices people make to receive an education. Biden’s reckless, unilateral student loan giveaway is unfair to the 87 percent of Americans without student loan debt and those who played by the rules.”

Two problems with this statement.  First, of that 87% who have no student loan debt, some 62% have none because they never attended college, so of course they have no student loan debt.  The other problem with Vern’s statement is that he himself had a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiven to the tune of $2.8 million!  And yet, he would begrudge the average college graduate, struggling to get a start in his/her career, a write off of between $10,000 – $20,000?  What a guy, eh?

Oh yeah … turns out the aforementioned Mike Kelly also received PPP loan forgiveness to the tune of nearly $1 million!  Take a look at the people who received PPP loan write-offs and are now complaining about giving a break to hard-working college graduates …

Their criticism is one of many hypocrisies promoted by Republicans in Congress today. They also claim it isn’t fair to people who have already paid off their student loans, but Clay Jones killed that argument earlier this week …

If you buy into the notion that it isn’t fair to those who didn’t have the luxury of assistance with their loans, then where do you draw the line?  Can we never progress in any area because it wouldn’t be fair to those who went before?  In that case, we shouldn’t have such luxuries as automobiles and air-conditioning, for it isn’t fair to those who lived their entire lives without them. Or perhaps it isn’t fair for the wealthy to have yachts and vacation homes, for it isn’t fair to those of us who cannot afford such things.  Where do you draw the line?

The bottom line is this is just one more excuse the Republicans are using to rile the masses, to convince voters to vote for them.  It assumes that We the People are too stupid to have read the truth about the plan to forgive a portion of some student debt.  It is a slap in the face to our intelligence, our understanding, our very beings.  See … this whole thing highlights the real difference between the Republican and Democratic policies … one helps people while the other is all about the wealth of a few.  I am an Independent voter who has voted for candidates of both parties in the past, but no more.  My conscience would not let me vote for any of the Republicans on the ballot today.  I worked three jobs to support my family and pay my tuition while going to grad school, but I nonetheless applaud President Biden’s plan and am glad people who need it will be getting some assistance.  Too bad others don’t feel the same.

53 thoughts on “Oh The Hypocrisy!!!”

  1. Don’t you know some animals are more equal than others? I think some Republicans have come to believe this (I mean poorer ones while the ones pulling the strings really go by it) like they believe pulling yourself up by the bootstraps can be done (rather than having originally been said as a satirical irony)..

    Liked by 1 person

    • I think the human species is the only one where individuals are judged on such superficial criteria as fur (skin) colour, ethnicity, gender, etc. The animal kingdom, you’ll notice, has no religion, the primary purpose of which is control. And so, it is only humans who judge and categorize people, put them into narrow boxes and tell them it’s good for them. Some are intelligent AND educated enough to know the difference, but others, about half of this nation, are not and will believe that they are being helped, even when it’s plain to see they are being harmed.

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  3. Pingback: Reblog: Oh The Hypocrisy!!! – This, That, and the Other

    • You are right to be speechless and shocked! So was I, but then after a bit of sputtering and cursing, I found my voice. Yes, this is the Great Divide in this nation … wealthy vs everyone else. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. xx

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  6. It would have been fair to state figures of PPP forgiveness given to Democrat politicians too, just so as not to appear biased.
    But the real issue here is America: is it a forward-looking nation or a backward-looking nation. Forgiving Student Loan debt says to up-and-coming college/university students the government wants me to succeed to help the nation move forward through better-educated citizens, now that this policy has been developed, while naysayers are saying keep the indentured slaves indentured, with little chance of success. They want to discourage people from getting better educated, thereby preventing America from becoming a better nation.
    I cannot begin to understand why lesser-educated people are more susceptible to Republican lies, but the present political situation shows that to be true. Therefore it behooves Republicans to keep students out of college, and Democrats to encourage students to go to college.
    To me this really seems contradictory. It seems the poor people want to keep everyone poor while the so-called middle class want to increase the size of the middle class. The one thing that is obvious is most of the wealthiest people in the nation want to stay the wealthiest in the nation. They do not want any competition from up-and-comers who might have ideas different from their own.
    And the United States was born to establish a classless society! In that it has failed most miserably! It is just a different type of person in the Upper Class, but they have copied the British Upper Class in not wanting lower classes to invade their lofty heights.

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    • I agree that the Dems also had some PPP loans ‘forgiven’, but it was the House Judiciary GOP who said in response to the student loan forgiveness plan, “If you take out a loan, you pay it back. Period.”

      Liked by 1 person

      • The Repughs say a lot of stupid things. That question should be how many employers, I don’t care what party they belong to, are repaying PPP loans. I don’t see it being many, if a forgiveness plan was available.
        Meanwhile, a 2nd, and more important question is how many employers claimed payroll expenses higher than reality, and what party did they belong to. Here is where I’ll bet Repughs stole a lot more money than Dems or Indies did, and every claim should be investigated according to how much real employees actually received, not according to records kept. Being that Trump was in charge, I bet he handed any amount claimed by any Republican.politician/employer!

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    • I could have included the PPP debts forgiven for Democrats, but it wasn’t pertinent to the topic at hand, which was the hypocrisy in those who had hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars in debt forgiven, but are howling about those with education loans receiving $10,000-$20,000 in assistance. There is no ‘forward-looking’ or ‘backward-looking’ “America”. There are those who believe that this nation should be an aristocracy run by the wealthy, and there are those who believe it should be a democracy that benefits EVERYONE. The goal of one side is to keep the wealthy in their ivory towers and turn the nation into a white-Christian-male-dominated country. The goal of the other side is to maintain dignity in life for all. There is no middle ground. The fact that those who have signed on for the cult of Republicans are ignorant of the fact that what they are doing is shooting themselves in the foot.

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  7. Thank you for sharing!!.. two things matter most to many Republicans, their image and their wealth… President Biden is trying to help young people realize their dreams because they are the future foundation of this country… he would not have had to do it alone should government, on a whole, work together to see if they could come up with a solution.. some Republicans are vocal because President Biden’s action make them appear uncaring and they may lose some money in the process…. 🙂

    Until we meet again..
    May love and laughter light your days,
    and warm your heart and home.
    May good and faithful friends be yours,
    wherever you may roam.
    May peace and plenty bless your world
    with joy that long endures.
    May all life’s passing seasons
    bring the best to you and yours!
    (Irish Saying)

    Liked by 1 person

    • Good to see you, Dutch! Yes, power, image and wealth are what matter most to Republicans in positions of authority. What I don’t understand, though, is the voters who applaud whatever the Republicans say they stand for. Most often, what the Republican candidates and office-holders stand for will hurt the average person, but they don’t seem to care. And you’re right … assistance in providing higher education, healthcare and other things that help people should originate in Congress, but they are so polarized that nothing can seem to get done there. Finally, President Biden said, “Okay, find, I’ll do your job for you, because people need help and they need it now, not in 20 years when you people get your act together!” Sigh. Can you tell that I’m fairly disgusted with Republicans and the way Congress, particularly the Senate, operate these days? And even more disgusted with half the people of this nation who are too blind to see that these politicos are NOT helping them … not one bit! Thank you for the lovely Irish Saying, dear friend!

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  8. First of all, you should not compare PPP with student loan debt. In 2020, the government forbade businesses from opening. Those employers and their employees could not earn money. The government provided PPP as a stopgap measure so that business owners would not fire employees and would be able to keep businesses open during this crisis period. Under the taking clause of the 5th amendment this is the government’s responsibility. They forced people out of work and they were required to provide just compensation for it. PPP was the just compensation from government. This legislation was supported by all on both sides of the aisle. We all know what student loan debt is–and it is something completely different.

    Rep. Mike Kelly was on the right track with his comments, but didn’t articulate it well. The point is that about 2/3 of the population does not have a college degree. The 1/3 which does have a degree will eventually earn more than those who don’t. They are the best compensated among the work force. Why should those who have worked for a living since high school be required to pay the bills for those who had the benefit of a college education and will over their lifetimes make more money than the plumbers and carpenters? So, Kelly is right that the benefit is not towards low-income families who are far less likely to have any student loan debt at all. It is directed more towards middle-class individuals and families who already have more means, and will likely have far more in the future.

    I was one who played by the rules. I incurred a sizeable student loan debt and I paid it off many years ago. I made a commitment to re-pay the debt and I kept it. I would expect others to attempt to do the same. You incur the debt now because you expect it will pay off in the long run. Furthermore, you are shifting the burden of this cost from those who received the benefit to those who did not: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/24/bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-may-cost-taxpayers-prompt-inflation.html

    The point of this debt forgiveness, coming three months before the next election, is to help Democrats with younger voters. Right now, President Biden is actually underwater with 18-34 year olds. He is trying to salvage a few more votes in that age group. This is not being done for any other reason. You feel good about helping out others in need. I understand that much and I have some empathy for folks saddle with debt, but that is not the reason. If that were the reason, we could have come up with something better thought out than this. Why not just forgive a portion of everyone’s credit card debt? That would impact more people, but it wouldn’t help the right type of voters.

    The cost of this is bill is in excess of $500 billion over ten years. Ms.Jean-Pierre says we can afford it because the budget deficit has been cut this year. “An historic reduction”, she says. The debt has not been reduced a penny. The deficit has been reduced because we are not spending the same massive amount of money we spent during COVID (more money we didn’t have). Their argument is pure sophistry. Can I tell my credit card company I incurred slightly less debt this year than I did last year (none of which I have paid off yet), so now I want to buy a new expensive car because I have been a tad bit more fiscally responsibly this year?

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    • One more thought on this. This forgiveness should come from the legislature and not the executive. If anyone has standing, perhaps Congress, it should be challenged in court. Congress, not the president, has the power of the purse, yet the president, all on his own, took a massive amount of government debt. This is likely not Constitutional.

      Speaker Pelosi agrees on this point.

      In July of 2021, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said President Joe Biden does not have the executive authority to issue “debt forgiveness,” arguing that such action would be illegal and that it has “to be an act of Congress.”

      “People think that the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not. He can postpone. He can delay. But he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress,” Pelosi said July 28 at a press conference.

      https://news.yahoo.com/flashback-nancy-pelosi-said-president-180709561.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAInPuPFCBGP-puaHMuviyfopOmTbhw8GlWNGVen5TAERbeQdX-5xUDzj9YISP9oSv0MEcn9DuqSfoqRGAEj7flFzIWubgtwFT-Ax2UX8cpiewaFBPr87Yi-st7sL77rmrIweMdSj-y2bbJoQKy4JdDrk8WrHMItOCFtXFno-Lw9x

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      • Why am I not surprised at the change of attitude between your first comment made 4 hours before your 2nd and 3rd comments. I knew you couldn’t let your heart have the last say, that your “mind” wasn’t going to let your feelings stand undisputed.
        But it is at least nice to know you do have a heart beating in your chest, even if your mind doesn’t let it say much. But that totally gives new meaning to your chosen handle, your mind is not the silent one, BUT IT IS THE SILENCER,

        Liked by 1 person

      • Sure, it should come from the legislature, but the legislature, particularly the Senate, is deadlocked on damn near every issue these days. If anything is to be accomplished, it will be by the president.

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        • The US Constitution is designed to create deadlock in our political process. The founders wanted change to come deliberatively. Folks today don’t understand deadlock is the intended consequence. The president appears to be going beyond the rules of governing in this instance, going outside the scope of the Constitution. Once the precedent is set and not challenged it is a problem. If we allow for this exception, we allow for any exception. This is a slippery slope. What happens when a president you don’t like takes advantage of this?

          We have an executive branch which has far too much power. The executive was defined in Article 2. The legislature was intended to be the more significant power and was defined in Article 1. The legislature has given up too much of its power because most of the legislators are just interested in getting re-elected instead of actually governing as they should. They yield power to the executive and the bureaucratic state. The CDC decided they could forgive rent debt during COVID. The EPA determined that C02 (an essential gas, necessary for all life on this planet) was a pollutant. How do we come to such a state and why do people allow the government to exceed its limited scope?

          You talked about not knowing history in another post. What about the history of Nazi Germany? It slid into a dictatorship and facism because too much power was invested in the executive branch in early 1930s, BEFORE Hitler came to power. Rome too was a Republic before Julius Ceaser seized power. The people begged him to lead them. They didn’t know what would follow. The over-reach of the executive and the ignorance of the people following them has lead to some very bad things in the past. We are not immune to such a takeover in this country, and it will be done by ignoring the rules of the Constitution and people like you going along with the change because it is in your short-term interest.

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    • I’m fully aware of what the PPP loans were and don’t have a problem with them being forgiven, BUT what I was pointing out is the hypocrisy … the members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat, who received those loans were already wealthy by most standards. The people who received student loans were not. There’s a glaring difference there. Oh, and by the way … “they forced people out of work” is not quite how I view it. They shuttered businesses in order to protect people against a deadly virus that has cost this nation more than 1 million lives and counting.

      Perhaps, if they could afford it, if higher education were at least partly funded by taxpayer dollars, those 62% or so who don’t have college degrees might be more inclined to obtain an education, thereby benefitting the entire nation. College is daunting for many, and the cost is prohibitive. We could help with that …

      You ask why the taxpayer should have to pay for it … why not? We pay for all manners of ridiculous things, and in my view, providing the wherewithal for people to improve their lives and someday contribute more to the greater good is a win-win.

      And I’m sure you made that mention of forgiving everybody’s credit card debt as a joke. Nonetheless, I respond that credit cards are used for all manners of things, typically non-essentials … cosmetics, clothing, travel, jewelry … that’s a heck of a lot different than an education, don’t you think? So, let’s be serious in this discussion.

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      • The PPP money was intended to benefit not just business owners but their employees. Money was given to owners so the employees would continue to draw a paycheck and not be out-of-work. This money was not intended to benefit the business owners alone. It is not money to go into their pockets. It was a stop-gap to keep them in business and to prevent a deep economic downturn.

        We do not need 100% of the nation to have a college degree. This is the fallacy. Many people are not suited for college, and we don’t need everyone to have a college degree. Many jobs in the economy are necessary and do not require a college degree. Many people come out of college not prepared for their first job. They often need training from their employer. I work in IT along with people with English, Biology, Home Ec degrees and more.

        The cost of college is prohibitive because government has subsidized education. Government has led to the high cost and now they want to bail us out from the high cost they have created. One related example: the recent Inflation Reduction Act provided subsidies for people buying electric cars. What did Ford and GM do after this bill was passed? They raised the price of their electric vehicles by the amount of the subsidy. So, who gets the benefit here: the consumer or the car company? It is same with college education: colleges are benefitting and the consumer (the student) is the one who is paying higher and higher education costs. It is the same with health care. Government intervention raises the cost. Look at the few places where health care costs are dropping; it is those places which are not covered by insurance and not regulated by government (lasik, cosmetic surgery, e.g.) .

        Government intervention is the problem. Government has too much power. They use it for political interests or they try to do good and fail. I work for the government myself. I see the problem clearly every day. We the people need to return the sovereignty back to us where it was always intended to be.

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  10. Jill, hypocrisy abounds and always will with elected officials, especially this vintage of Republicans. As an independent, I don’t mind folks advocating for conservative policies, but some truth and genuine concern for all (not just those with more commas in their wealth) would be nice.

    With that said, I would have preferred the Dems to focus on some relief for medical debt, not college debt. There are far more Americans subject to medical debt than the college debt and it would have played better with more people. Plus, medical debt is often the number one reason for personal bankruptcy.

    Thanks, Keith

    Liked by 2 people

    • Just a question, Keith. Does the government have access to the amount of people’s medical debts?
      I am not disputing that bailing out on medical debt would be a better option, and I do not know how student loans work in America, but I expect that student loans come from the government, while medical debts are owed to private corporations. I highly doubt private corporations would be willing to have the government make a % of that debt disappear. At the very least they would want the govrrnment to pay off that part of the debt, and it would not look good for the government to be handing even more tax dollars to private corpirations. They already do enough of that due to Republican policies.
      Maybe I don’t have proper information, and I would gladly listen to how things really work in America, but I do know the wealthy are not sbout to forgive any debts owed to them by the non-wealthy. That would be Socialism, and I know capitalists hate socialism!

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      • Rawgod, you are correct. The medical debt is owed to hospitals, doctors, radiologists, labs, etc. It is easier to forgive a government loan for students debt. Yet, I would think a mechanism could be added to the tax filing to compensate for medical debt. Keith

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        • Are you telling me medical expenses are not tax deductible in the States? Even with public healthcare in Canada medical expenses are partially tax deductible on non-covered items, like dentists, opticians, etc. If yes, that is what you are telling me, your tax system needs a huge overhaul! It’s like you are being penalized for getting sick, injured, or being born with problems. That’s not cool! Even our healthcare insurance premiums are partially tax deductible, as our our non-covered prescription costs..

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          • You can save tax levies on money for medical care only if you put money in a special kind of account (to which I don’t think all people have access) ahead of time — so there is some guessing at not too much and not too little — and use money out of that for the care. I think there are at least a few kinds of these accounts; the first (I know of) had people (legally) losing whatever they put into it that they didn’t spend on approved health/medical care before the end of the year while there were a lot of restrictions. The medical situation is not great in the United States, and said companies are in the process of taking over the UK. Yet, I’m fine with the student debt reduction (unless it gets cruelly clawed back).

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            • The Conservative Party of Canada, and most provincial conservative parties, want to go to private health. If we ever do I’ll be killing myself — because I cannot afford private health care.
              Our public health care services are failing right now because Conservative governments are giving the bare minimum financial support to healthcare in their jurisdictions. They want public healthcare to fail!
              And stupid people vote for them, just like stupid people vote for the Repughs in America. Sounds like the same thing in Britain.
              Heartless fools, the whole bunch of them!

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    • You’re right, and I don’t mind people advocating for conservative policies if … IF they do not harm certain groups of people while helping others who do not need the help. I’ve always been a liberal-minded thinker, but I do understand that resources are limited and we must make the most of what we have. But when ‘conservative’ means basically being a reverse Robin Hood, robbing from the poor to give to the rich, then I have a big problem with it.

      I am glad for the student loan debt relief, but I also know there is a need for medical debt relief as well. I don’t think it necessarily needs to be an ‘either/or’ situation. However one thing that would be near the top of my priority list is a Universal Health Care system that would end people incurring huge medical debt just to stay alive. Canada, the UK, Germany and so many other countries have successful universal health care programs and yes, people pay more in taxes, but they do NOT end up owing their next-born to the hospitals/doctors/pharmacies. And speaking of pharmacies … I know from personal experience that the pharma industry is literally robbing us blind in this country! (Sorry … I didn’t mean to get on my soapbox!)

      Thank you, Keith! Your views are always level-headed and I greatly appreciate them!

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  11. Brilliant post, Jill. I am old and on fixed income and have been paying my student loans for nearly 20 years. What is better, that I get squeezed of my last few dollars by a rapacious debt-collecting bank or that I put that money back into the economy buying food and paying my utilities? President Biden knows that the transition to the new green economy is painful for us. We need some help out here.

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    • They were simply given the money by the government from the start. The “employers” were supposed to live up to certain things (like not firing employees or losing employees and making the workplace safe and more) but enforcement of terms or verification for the amounts being appropriate has been lax to missing, and I don’t believe there will be any accountability.

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    • I’m not 100% clear on that, but will look into it more when I can. I know the intention of the PPP loans was to help keep small businesses from going under when having to shut down due to Covid, and to be able to pay their staff at least some portion of their salaries. Whether that was how it was used or not, I really don’t know, but will look into it. Meanwhile, Marleen may well be spot on!
      Cwtch

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