Yesterday’s elections suggest that American voters are concerned about the past year’s radicalization of the Republican Party. In a special election for a seat in the House of Representatives in a New York state swing district, the 19th congressional district, Democrat Pat Ryan beat his Republican opponent. Pundits looked at the race as a bellwether (named for the wether, or castrated sheep, fitted with a bell to indicate where the flock was going), and most thought the Republican would win, as he was a strong candidate and the midterm election in a president’s first term usually goes to the opposite party.
I found myself a single mother of a special needs child after a divorce in the 1980s. Although I had sights on becoming a physician I decided Nursing would be more financially attainable. I took out some student loans and worked part time jobs to support getting my degree in nursing. I miked cows, worked at a Woolworths as a cashier and whatever jobs I could do when I wasn’t in school. Some say that was admirable but I still ended up with 15,000 in loans to pay off and the worst part was the time that I didn’t spend with my daughter. I needed to find a fulfilling career to provide for us both and make sure she had everything she needed to prosper and live life to her potential, and be happy and secure. I achieved my career goals and have advanced in my nursing career. And my daughter has had challenges but overall is doing okay. However if I hadn’t had to work extra jobs while going to school full time while single parenting a special needs child, I truly believe her outcome would have been better. I remember when I was in grade school in California in the 60s it was free to go to the junior colleges and very inexpensive to go to state colleges. Then Reagan became governor and everything changed . Then living in Idaho in the 80s Reagan as President screwed up education for the whole country.
After I graduated and started working I worked as much extra that I could to pay off the student loans. That took more time away from my daughter that could have been so beneficial to her development, security and abilities.
So I applaud President Biden for taking this step that has potential to provide so much more than financial relief, but gives time and nurturing back to our children
The Ryan win is more than a bellwether. It's a map of the minefield. Look at the issues he won on, versus the issues the Republican campaigned on. And in the next two months, things are going to change in such a way that it will be harder for Republicans to run on those issues since they will not be the big issues they thought they would be.
Far too often, people don’t worry about loss of a freedom until they lose it. Luckily, the voters saw through his lack of concern and voted him out.
This result, even though the turnout was less than 30%, shows that some of the voters are aware of the threats to democracy and are willing to vote to save it. With gerrymandering, we will have to get out the vote to fight back—past midterms have shown how much is needed.
Thank you for always alerting us to new threats and successes. Thank you also for adding the necessary historical perspective.
So much good news to comment on! The "Building a Better America Tour" is exactly what's needed to tout the administration's programs to the American people. I hope officials are also sharing the forecast that the deficit will decline $1.7 million and repeating — over and over — that Republicans will take away Social Security, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act if they ever gain control of Congress and the Executive Branch.
Add in the GOP's accelerating attacks on democracy and basic rights, and the message for the nation is a contrast as clear as light and darkness. It seems the people are listening.
A note in added proof: Federally subsidized student loans were a boondoggle for financial institutions, who administered the loans, reaped the profits, but had to assume none of the risk.
Oh my, I wonder if the conservative Justices and Leonard Leo are tossing and turning? Just imagine, the future of America that they have plotted for so long just might go awry.
The fact that gas prices have dropped steadily over the past few weeks makes complaining about them moot. Though inflation remains high, it has leveled. The fearful "sky is falling" message of the Republicans cannot compete against the actual threats to freedom posed by the Republican voter restrictions, the Dobbs decision, and the fact that Biden is making good on his campaign promises. I know many who will applaud and welcome the student loan cancelation they have been awaiting.
I think the pundits and you are missing the point. Pat Ryan gets it. He had the right word - the fury is "visceral." Gerrymandering doesn't matter a bit if women are voting for their freedom. Not just Democrats, but independents and sane Republican women won't care what party they belong to. They will vote D if that's the only way to preserve their freedom. Reproductive rights cut across party lines and women are ANGRY. This will be our first chance to vote since Dobbs came down. There will be hell to pay.
Although I liked Biden's reply to cries of unfair, that he doesn't see Republican and other opponents - of this moderate means tested student debt forgiveness -objecting to all the benefits the wealthy enjoy through government policies favoring them. I think anyone fulminating at the unfairness of student debt forgiveness - which because of means testing will help Black people who have suffered from economic injustice - maybe they need to reminded of some things.
Higher education boosts earning power and home ownership boosts intergenerational wealth. This is one reason why the Federal Government provided GI Bill benefits for college and home purchases. Both helped build the middle class after WW2. Another group benefitted indirectly from the GI Bill and from direct government subsidies - real estate developers who built suburban communities and sold to veterans. They argued before Congress that by subsidizing developers of these suburbs, the government would move Vets out of the big cities, where they were vulnerable to political radicalization - especially Vets returning from the European front where they'd been exposed to socialist and communist propaganda. And with homes outside the cities where many worked - Vets would be disinclined to attend evening meetings or commute back on weekends - and they'd be too busy with home maintenance and improvements anyway.
One group of Vets was written out of the GI Bill. Black WW2 Veterans were not eligible. And Black people were red-lined out of these new suburbs - where government also invested in creating excellent public schools. Oh - and for Black people who later did manage to earn and save enough money, and overcome social racism and racially discriminatory mortgaging practices - even today when they go to sell their homes they are market valued significantly lower than the same homes owned by White people. In one case, the exact same home. After their home was undervalued two professors stripped it of its Black themed possessions and had a White person pose as the owner - and presto bingo the house was valued significantly higher. Just the tip of the iceberg of economic injustice.
Opposing this act and running on opposing 'woke' in education is just more proof of Republican racism against Black people. As if we needed more. Red hats are the new White hoods. And you don't have to hide your face. You can shout your prejudice out loud in full daylight - while as DeSantis recently said 'putting on God's armor.' By which I assume he also meant the Black robes of the Leonard Leo Federalist Society Supreme Court majority bent on outlawing civil rights.
Are any repubs paying attention to the Biden administration’s policies and bills that will not only save them money now but in the future? And save our environment? Thank you, HCR for highlighting the critical legislation and bills the Dems are voting in. Chances are repub voters will like tax breaks and loan forgiveness and benefit from climate change related jobs and technology. If they want that to continue they better think what will happen if they vote Red. Do they remember TFG’s first bill practically first day to reward his millionaire and billionaire friends and corporations with tax breaks? As for me I saved $50 that year. Gratitude to President Biden and Democrats. Vote in this coming election to continue Government for the People. My postcards are ready to send in October.
I am sorry but canceling $10 thousand of Federal and up to $20 thousand of Pell loans is a joke. And why is this a joke? I think Biden is trying to get right with his god. Since the seventies he was the major, or as much of it he could be, road block to every student loan relief bill showing up in Congress. In 2005 he did a masterful move to remove the final leaf of debt relief for students. There is nothing left.
When Stabenow was running as a Senator again, I caught her in public and asked her amongst younger people when she would change her stance on student loan debt. She gave me the standard pablum answer. Even so I got her attention and put her on record in front of the younger people there. At Showdown in Chicago, I caught up with Durbin and cornered him. The only thing aggravating me more is the VA playing games with veterans who were stationed at Lejeune. The VA has a special board who are rejecting many of us who drank and showered in the Trichlorethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), benzene and vinyl chloride in the water. I drank the water.
Rant done. Today the Gov released the PPP loans which were set at 1% interest to be paid back. That information was available since July 4th and they waited till today to release it. Why? I am guessing:
Not on this part: More than 11.8 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans were issued as of June 30, 2021, with 708 borrowers receiving the maximum loan amount of $10 million.
Of the total number of loans, 10.2 million have been partially or fully forgiven. The average dollar amount forgiven was $72,500. Of the borrowers receiving the maximum amount, 625 loans have been partially or fully forgiven.
I am guessing the gov did not want to release it earlier because students would then expect more. Instead, they released the info today, We are talking $739 billion in PPP loans forgiven. That is almost as much as the Defense budget and 46% of the student loan debt.
This is the Biden from the seventies to 2005. He will toss students a tidbit and mess with veterans on Camp Lejeune water contamination. So far Rituxan infusions work when I need it.
Biden should have and could have done more since he is a major instigator of student loan issues. The data is out there. I have it too.
Thank you, Heather, for one of your more instructive letters. I've always known that we live under a lopsided system but I never appreciated how lopsided most of our systems really are. In particular, I never understood until I read today's missive how heavily higher education was funded until the 1980s when the rug was yanked out from under it.
I'm within spitting distance of my 80th birthday and rarely a day passes that I don't feel gratitude that I was educated during the 1960s. My brother recently retired from a 50 year career in medicine and he reminisced about paying $25 per semester for his medical education back in the day. When I was in the hospital for a hip replacement last year, young surgical residents were anxious to begin practice and start paying down their $300K in medical school debt. This is a key reason why we have had so much difficulty recruiting primary care physicians. Their reimbursement is structured by the insurance industry such that they cannot afford primary practice while they're trying to pay of a med school loan.
Beginning in the 1950s, we allowed MBAs to displace MDs at the top of emerging health care corporations. In my field, once technically sound petroleum companies were compromised as MBAs replaced founding geoscientist and reservoir engineer PhDs in the executive suites. Dilution of technical talent in the boardroom carries major consequences, as Boeing painfully has learned in the recent past!
Speaking of loans, would you mind rechecking your math on the PPP loans? The numbers you quoted suggest that ¾ trillion dollars remains to be paid off if they're forgiven. If this is correct, it's an astonishing figure!
I found myself a single mother of a special needs child after a divorce in the 1980s. Although I had sights on becoming a physician I decided Nursing would be more financially attainable. I took out some student loans and worked part time jobs to support getting my degree in nursing. I miked cows, worked at a Woolworths as a cashier and whatever jobs I could do when I wasn’t in school. Some say that was admirable but I still ended up with 15,000 in loans to pay off and the worst part was the time that I didn’t spend with my daughter. I needed to find a fulfilling career to provide for us both and make sure she had everything she needed to prosper and live life to her potential, and be happy and secure. I achieved my career goals and have advanced in my nursing career. And my daughter has had challenges but overall is doing okay. However if I hadn’t had to work extra jobs while going to school full time while single parenting a special needs child, I truly believe her outcome would have been better. I remember when I was in grade school in California in the 60s it was free to go to the junior colleges and very inexpensive to go to state colleges. Then Reagan became governor and everything changed . Then living in Idaho in the 80s Reagan as President screwed up education for the whole country.
After I graduated and started working I worked as much extra that I could to pay off the student loans. That took more time away from my daughter that could have been so beneficial to her development, security and abilities.
So I applaud President Biden for taking this step that has potential to provide so much more than financial relief, but gives time and nurturing back to our children
The Ryan win is more than a bellwether. It's a map of the minefield. Look at the issues he won on, versus the issues the Republican campaigned on. And in the next two months, things are going to change in such a way that it will be harder for Republicans to run on those issues since they will not be the big issues they thought they would be.
"Dewey Beats Truman!" indeed.
Is there anything the far right fears more than well-educated voters?
Molinaro stated that abortion was not an issue in New York because it is legal there and he’s all for states rights concerning abortion.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/08/22/politics/new-york-19th-district-special-election-abortion/index.html
Far too often, people don’t worry about loss of a freedom until they lose it. Luckily, the voters saw through his lack of concern and voted him out.
This result, even though the turnout was less than 30%, shows that some of the voters are aware of the threats to democracy and are willing to vote to save it. With gerrymandering, we will have to get out the vote to fight back—past midterms have shown how much is needed.
Thank you for always alerting us to new threats and successes. Thank you also for adding the necessary historical perspective.
So much good news to comment on! The "Building a Better America Tour" is exactly what's needed to tout the administration's programs to the American people. I hope officials are also sharing the forecast that the deficit will decline $1.7 million and repeating — over and over — that Republicans will take away Social Security, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act if they ever gain control of Congress and the Executive Branch.
Add in the GOP's accelerating attacks on democracy and basic rights, and the message for the nation is a contrast as clear as light and darkness. It seems the people are listening.
A note in added proof: Federally subsidized student loans were a boondoggle for financial institutions, who administered the loans, reaped the profits, but had to assume none of the risk.
💙🇺🇸 A lot of good things happening- I believe. Thank you for the bellwether explanation- I didn’t know that- interesting.
Education is investment in one's country.
It is putting country first.
As opposed to vampirism, putting parasites first, which creates a caste society defaced by debt slavery.
Oh my, I wonder if the conservative Justices and Leonard Leo are tossing and turning? Just imagine, the future of America that they have plotted for so long just might go awry.
The fact that gas prices have dropped steadily over the past few weeks makes complaining about them moot. Though inflation remains high, it has leveled. The fearful "sky is falling" message of the Republicans cannot compete against the actual threats to freedom posed by the Republican voter restrictions, the Dobbs decision, and the fact that Biden is making good on his campaign promises. I know many who will applaud and welcome the student loan cancelation they have been awaiting.
I think the pundits and you are missing the point. Pat Ryan gets it. He had the right word - the fury is "visceral." Gerrymandering doesn't matter a bit if women are voting for their freedom. Not just Democrats, but independents and sane Republican women won't care what party they belong to. They will vote D if that's the only way to preserve their freedom. Reproductive rights cut across party lines and women are ANGRY. This will be our first chance to vote since Dobbs came down. There will be hell to pay.
Although I liked Biden's reply to cries of unfair, that he doesn't see Republican and other opponents - of this moderate means tested student debt forgiveness -objecting to all the benefits the wealthy enjoy through government policies favoring them. I think anyone fulminating at the unfairness of student debt forgiveness - which because of means testing will help Black people who have suffered from economic injustice - maybe they need to reminded of some things.
Higher education boosts earning power and home ownership boosts intergenerational wealth. This is one reason why the Federal Government provided GI Bill benefits for college and home purchases. Both helped build the middle class after WW2. Another group benefitted indirectly from the GI Bill and from direct government subsidies - real estate developers who built suburban communities and sold to veterans. They argued before Congress that by subsidizing developers of these suburbs, the government would move Vets out of the big cities, where they were vulnerable to political radicalization - especially Vets returning from the European front where they'd been exposed to socialist and communist propaganda. And with homes outside the cities where many worked - Vets would be disinclined to attend evening meetings or commute back on weekends - and they'd be too busy with home maintenance and improvements anyway.
One group of Vets was written out of the GI Bill. Black WW2 Veterans were not eligible. And Black people were red-lined out of these new suburbs - where government also invested in creating excellent public schools. Oh - and for Black people who later did manage to earn and save enough money, and overcome social racism and racially discriminatory mortgaging practices - even today when they go to sell their homes they are market valued significantly lower than the same homes owned by White people. In one case, the exact same home. After their home was undervalued two professors stripped it of its Black themed possessions and had a White person pose as the owner - and presto bingo the house was valued significantly higher. Just the tip of the iceberg of economic injustice.
Opposing this act and running on opposing 'woke' in education is just more proof of Republican racism against Black people. As if we needed more. Red hats are the new White hoods. And you don't have to hide your face. You can shout your prejudice out loud in full daylight - while as DeSantis recently said 'putting on God's armor.' By which I assume he also meant the Black robes of the Leonard Leo Federalist Society Supreme Court majority bent on outlawing civil rights.
Are any repubs paying attention to the Biden administration’s policies and bills that will not only save them money now but in the future? And save our environment? Thank you, HCR for highlighting the critical legislation and bills the Dems are voting in. Chances are repub voters will like tax breaks and loan forgiveness and benefit from climate change related jobs and technology. If they want that to continue they better think what will happen if they vote Red. Do they remember TFG’s first bill practically first day to reward his millionaire and billionaire friends and corporations with tax breaks? As for me I saved $50 that year. Gratitude to President Biden and Democrats. Vote in this coming election to continue Government for the People. My postcards are ready to send in October.
Per ABC"s national 8/24 evening broadcast, NEWLY registered Women Voters in Wisconsin, Michigan & Pennsylvania outnumber Males 12 to 1.
Hey:
I am sorry but canceling $10 thousand of Federal and up to $20 thousand of Pell loans is a joke. And why is this a joke? I think Biden is trying to get right with his god. Since the seventies he was the major, or as much of it he could be, road block to every student loan relief bill showing up in Congress. In 2005 he did a masterful move to remove the final leaf of debt relief for students. There is nothing left.
When Stabenow was running as a Senator again, I caught her in public and asked her amongst younger people when she would change her stance on student loan debt. She gave me the standard pablum answer. Even so I got her attention and put her on record in front of the younger people there. At Showdown in Chicago, I caught up with Durbin and cornered him. The only thing aggravating me more is the VA playing games with veterans who were stationed at Lejeune. The VA has a special board who are rejecting many of us who drank and showered in the Trichlorethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), benzene and vinyl chloride in the water. I drank the water.
When you borrowed $74,000, repaid $175,000 and still owe $235,000; how does $10,000 help? Ok something simpler in the same order . . . $26,000, 90,000, and $89,000. The link: https://angrybearblog.com/2022/06/why-10000-of-student-loan-relief-will-not-help
Rant done. Today the Gov released the PPP loans which were set at 1% interest to be paid back. That information was available since July 4th and they waited till today to release it. Why? I am guessing:
Not on this part: More than 11.8 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans were issued as of June 30, 2021, with 708 borrowers receiving the maximum loan amount of $10 million.
Of the total number of loans, 10.2 million have been partially or fully forgiven. The average dollar amount forgiven was $72,500. Of the borrowers receiving the maximum amount, 625 loans have been partially or fully forgiven.
I am guessing the gov did not want to release it earlier because students would then expect more. Instead, they released the info today, We are talking $739 billion in PPP loans forgiven. That is almost as much as the Defense budget and 46% of the student loan debt.
This is the Biden from the seventies to 2005. He will toss students a tidbit and mess with veterans on Camp Lejeune water contamination. So far Rituxan infusions work when I need it.
Biden should have and could have done more since he is a major instigator of student loan issues. The data is out there. I have it too.
Thank you, Heather, for one of your more instructive letters. I've always known that we live under a lopsided system but I never appreciated how lopsided most of our systems really are. In particular, I never understood until I read today's missive how heavily higher education was funded until the 1980s when the rug was yanked out from under it.
I'm within spitting distance of my 80th birthday and rarely a day passes that I don't feel gratitude that I was educated during the 1960s. My brother recently retired from a 50 year career in medicine and he reminisced about paying $25 per semester for his medical education back in the day. When I was in the hospital for a hip replacement last year, young surgical residents were anxious to begin practice and start paying down their $300K in medical school debt. This is a key reason why we have had so much difficulty recruiting primary care physicians. Their reimbursement is structured by the insurance industry such that they cannot afford primary practice while they're trying to pay of a med school loan.
Beginning in the 1950s, we allowed MBAs to displace MDs at the top of emerging health care corporations. In my field, once technically sound petroleum companies were compromised as MBAs replaced founding geoscientist and reservoir engineer PhDs in the executive suites. Dilution of technical talent in the boardroom carries major consequences, as Boeing painfully has learned in the recent past!
Speaking of loans, would you mind rechecking your math on the PPP loans? The numbers you quoted suggest that ¾ trillion dollars remains to be paid off if they're forgiven. If this is correct, it's an astonishing figure!