SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
April 1, 2021
Sullivan’s Salvos 4/6/21
In this edition:
*Easter
*Happy Birthday Jordan!
*Congratulations, Dan!
*Iowa Versus Recovery Act
*Stop Asian Hate
*Student Loan Forgiveness
*Did You Know?
*Easter
Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it! I hope you have a great holiday!
*Happy Birthday Jordan!
My daughter Jordan turns 27 on April 8th. Jordan works at a place very similar to Four Oaks in Memphis, Tennessee, and has done so ever since college. She continues to get promoted, and is doing very well professionally. More importantly, she is a really good person. Man, am I ever proud! Happy Birthday, Jordan! I love you!
*Congratulations, Dan!
Congratulations to Coralville City Engineer Dan Holderness, who is retiring after 34 years in that position. Dan is a great guy, and I wish him well!
*Iowa Versus Recovery Act
Governor Reynolds has decided to sue the Biden Administration over some rules that come with the American Recovery Act. The Biden Administration wisely decided to limit the ability of states to accept federal money, then cut taxes rather than spend the money. That is exactly what Reynolds wants to do. So she’s suing.
Wow. A higher level of government attaching strings to a lower level of government. I have never heard of such a thing! Obviously, Reynolds would *NEVER* commit such a sin! No way she would unfairly burden local government!
In case my attempt at sarcasm fell flat – I am not sympathetic. Reynolds is a hypocrite.
*Stop Asian Hate
I attended the Stop Asian Hate rally at the Ped Mall last Sunday, and I am very glad I went. Asians and Asian Americans have always been subject to racism in this country, but it has rarely been discussed publicly. The recent murders outside of Atlanta have turned the spotlight on the many ways in which Asians and Asian Americans face racism and discrimination.
Much of the recent uptick in violence toward Asians and Asian Americans can be traced directly back to Donald Trump. There was a study done of his Tweets, and each time he used the phrase “China Virus” or “Kung Flu” there was a substantial uptick in reported hate crimes toward Asians and Asian Americans.
So yes, Trump is an awful person. We already knew that. But racism against Asians and Asian Americans goes back long before Donald Trump. It is ingrained in American society. It takes actual work to make things better. We are all guilty, and we all have work to do.
Thanks to the organizers for a great event, and thanks to Coralville Councilor Hai Huynh for a rousing speech!
*Student Loan Forgiveness
In the 2020 Democratic Primary, there was a great deal of discussion over student loan forgiveness. The candidate I favored (Elizabeth Warren) was very adamant about the need to forgive federal student loans. President Biden, while far less enthusiastic, agreed that some form of loan forgiveness needed to be considered. Pretty much every Democratic candidate was somewhere on that continuum.
The conversation has started again, and I thought it was a good time to dust off the arguments for forgiving federal student loan debt. First, here is a bit of data about the scope of the issue:
The US has 45 million citizens with student loan debt, who owe a total of $1.7 trillion. That makes student loan debt the second biggest type of debt, behind only home mortgages and ahead of credit card and automobile debt. 70% of all college students in 2020 had some type of student loan. 2019 grads average $30,000 in debt; in 2009, that was $23,000. That is a 27% increase in ten years.
So why is forgiveness important?
1. Experts agree it is good for the economy. People who pay back student loans make payments averaging $300/month. Eliminating this debt is like a $300 stimulus check every month, going to people who need it. It will create consumer demand for homes, cars, clothes, restaurants – young people will stimulate the economy with their newly-found extra money.
2. It evens out racial disparities. 90% of all African Americans who attend college have student loan debt. The number is 86% for Hispanic students. Only 60% of white students take these loans.
3. We are paying ourselves. 93% of all student loans come from the federal government. It is similar to loaning your kid $20, then simply never asking for that $20 back. No one is really hurt by the forgiveness; it can be written off.
4. Why should we forgive loans for rich kids? We won’t. This is a red herring. Rich kids do not take student loans; their parents pay for their college. Nor do we pay for students to attend prestigious universities; only 0.1% of Ivy League students had any student loan debt whatsoever. The benefits here do not accrue to the rich. By the way - I hope those same critics apply the same logic to tax cuts.! We would not want to unfairly benefit someone who is wealthy!
5. Someone else DID pay for you! I am really tired of people claiming, “I paid for my own college! They should do the same!” To that, I say, “Bullshit!”
You see, the State of Iowa used to believe that educating our young people was part of the state’s mission. So the Legislature funded the State Universities. In other words, kids now pay a MUCH higher percentage than you ever did!
A friend just sent me his personal example: He started at the UI in 1968. Tuition was $310 per year; room and board was $1040 annually. Add in a bit for books, and you are at about $1500 to attend the UI. In 1969, just working over the summer, Jim made over $1000. In 1970, he made almost $2000. He paid his own way.
Fast forward to today. Tuition, room, board, and books at the UI is almost $25,000. Say a student works for $10/hour times 40 hours/week times 12 weeks. (None of those is a given, BTW!) = $4,800. So our independent student would need to come up with another $20,000+.
Things have changed dramatically for today’s students! They deserve the same deal we got!
6. More on the change in public support – the State of Iowa budget has grown $3.4 billion since 1998, while UI support dropped $8 million. Consider a 62% CPI during that time, and in real dollars, the UI has endured a $446 million cut.
7. Another response to the person whose argument is, “Nobody gave me anything!” It makes him sound incredibly old when I say this, but my Dad was born in a house with a dirt floor, no running water, and no electricity. He always brought that up when people made these types of arguments. Dad was a Union man, and I often heard him say, “Why would I want my kids to have to live like I did? I want better for them.” We need more of that attitude.
Forgiveness of federal student loans just makes sense. I hope President Biden is able to get something passed, because it will help the economy tremendously.
*DID YOU KNOW? Easter is a “movable feast” – one that is set according to the phases of the moon – so the dates are different each year. Easter always occurs between March 22 and April 25.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 11:09 AM
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