The Biden Administration and All Things Politics

[LogGrad98]

MSN

The White House Twitter account reminded Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a frequent Biden critic, that she was once a recipient of the Paycheck Protection Program, established by former President Donald Trump during the pandemic to help small businesses.

“Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene had $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven,”

In additional posts on Twitter Thursday, the White House called out Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), who it says, had over $2.3 million in PPP loans forgiven; Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), who it says, had over $1.4 million in PPP loans forgiven; Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), who it says, had over $1 million in PPP loans forgiven; and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who it says, had $482,321 in PPP loans forgiven.

Each Republican the White House put on blast had criticized Biden’s student loan forgiveness.

LOL MTG you incredibly ugly idiot. You are hilarious.

But you don't understand fishbro, those were loans for BUSINESSES for wealt....uh, I mean successful businesspeople who provided jobs and stability for maybe 10's of Americans. Those are what should be forgiven, not any student loans!! Those need to be paid back, unless they were for wealth....crap there I go again, SUCCESSFUL and important businesspeople who are providing the trickle down that allows them to live extravagant lifestyles off the public dime help people in need find jobs!!

 

[LogGrad98]

In before someone feels the need to tell you that's because Nazis were leftist socialists.

Is this one better?

 

[AlaskanAssassin]

The IRS has been underfunded for years, and it's allowed record tax cheating and tax evasion by the wealthy, resulted in hours-long waits on the customer service lines for middle Americans, and short-changed our government, forcing higher tax rates on the middle class or increasing government debt. Fascism is associated with easing the tax burden on the wealthy. Try again.

If Biden doesn't have the authority, there will be a couple of hundred Congresspeople that take this to court.

Again, I'm not aware of the historical association of fascism and the forgiveness of student debt. Can you provide a source for that?

They way people use the term fascism varies wildly. I wouldn't necessarily call any of this fascism, but there are elements of authoritarianism, anti-liberalism, and autocracy. Again, I'm not agreeing that it is fascism, but with such a broad term people are going to use it how they see fit.

I doubt there is going to be much of a legal battle here. I know conservative commentators are suggesting there will be, but that's just posturing. There is very little to gain and much to lose from a political perspective. Everyone loves Santa Clause, no one likes the Grinch.

Regarding the student loan situation, I think there is a lack of empathy across the board. On the right, there is a lack of empathy for the ridiculous costs of college they had to walk into. Many were told since a young age that they absolutely had to go to college, and to attend the best one they could, with little attention to the cost. Some of these people are genuinely struggling and facing challenges beginning and continuing their adult lives. They might not be able to afford a home, or to have a family. On the left, there is a lack of empathy for those that made different choices based on the education and economic landscape. Some chose not to go to college because of the cost. Some parents scrapped and saved and suffered to pay for college without taking loans. I myself worked a full-time night job throughout college. I didn't have time for parties, extra-curriculars, internships, etc. Every day felt like a double-shift. I was miserable for much of those five-ish years it took to graduate. For those who chose to endure their suffering before or durring college, instead of after, this might feel like a slap in the face. More empathy is needed across the board.

 

[Gameface]

They way people use the term fascism varies wildly. I wouldn't necessarily call any of this fascism, but there are elements of authoritarianism, anti-liberalism, and autocracy. Again, I'm not agreeing that it is fascism, but with such a broad term people are going to use it how they see fit.

I doubt there is going to be much of a legal battle here. I know conservative commentators are suggesting there will be, but that's just posturing. There is very little to gain and much to lose from a political perspective. Everyone loves Santa Clause, no one likes the Grinch.

Regarding the student loan situation, I think there is a lack of empathy across the board. On the right, there is a lack of empathy for the ridiculous costs of college they had to walk into. Many were told since a young age that they absolutely had to go to college, and to attend the best one they could, with little attention to the cost. Some of these people are genuinely struggling and facing challenges beginning and continuing their adult lives. They might not be able to afford a home, or to have a family. On the left, there is a lack of empathy for those that made different choices based on the education and economic landscape. Some chose not to go to college because of the cost. Some parents scrapped and saved and suffered to pay for college without taking loans. I myself worked a full-time night job throughout college. I didn't have time for parties, extra-curriculars, internships, etc. Every day felt like a double-shift. I was miserable for much of those five-ish years it took to graduate. For those who chose to endure their suffering before or durring college, instead of after, this might feel like a slap in the fact. More empathy is needed across the board.

I think the real solution starts with making it possible for anyone who wants to* can get a college education without either going into massive debt or having to work while going to school in order to pay for it.

I agree that this isn't really fair to people who have either paid back student loans early or who avoided student loans by paying out of pocket (by working or otherwise).

*anyone who wants to who also meets enrollment criteria and academic performance/participation standards.

 

[AlaskanAssassin]

View: https://twitter.com/whitehouse/status/1562916200866267138?s=21&t=p_HBOdh3ZsCKP9quHCferQ

Loan forgiveness for me but not for thee!

I’m not tired from all this winning! Keep’em coming Brandon!

Not sure of the comparison between an entity receiving a PPP loan (and it subsequently being forgiven), and student loan forgiveness for individuals.

When businesses or entities applied for PPP Loans, it was for the purpose of retaining employees during a period in which governments were requiring people to stay home (and possibly not work). While the title is misleading, the PPP was not really a loan, every entity expected to be eligible for forgiveness, which had to be stated in the application. So as long as you met the compliance requirements (mainly being that you didn't fire, lay-off, or furlough workers), you received forgiveness. In essence, it was more like a grant award than a loan.

Of course, there are/were a litany of entities that received these funds that ended up not really needing them (or outright lied on the application). However, at the commencement of the program, nobody really knew what the ultimate impact of the pandemic and government shut-downs would have on their organizations. So it's hard to fault many of them they received the award.

As someone who has audited quite a number of PPP recipients, I can confirm that at least for some organizations, the PPP loan was the only thing that kept employees on the payroll while the government forced business closures.

This situation is absolutly nothing like individuals voluntarily electing to take out a college loan, for their own benefit, with the expectation that they will someday have to repay the loan.

 

[One Brow]

They way people use the term fascism varies wildly. I wouldn't necessarily call any of this fascism, but there are elements of authoritarianism, anti-liberalism, and autocracy. Again, I'm not agreeing that it is fascism, but with such a broad term people are going to use it how they see fit.

Were you referring to the hiring of IRS agents and/or student loan forgiveness with this?

On the left, there is a lack of empathy for those that made different choices based on the education and economic landscape. Some chose not to go to college because of the cost. Some parents scrapped and saved and suffered to pay for college without taking loans. I myself worked a full-time night job throughout college. I didn't have time for parties, extra-curriculars, internships, etc. Every day felt like a double-shift. I was miserable for much of those five-ish years it took to graduate. For those who chose to endure their suffering before or durring college, instead of after, this might feel like a slap in the face. More empathy is needed across the board.

There may be some lack of empathy, but the responses in general from right-leaning people make me wonder if they even remember the parable of the vineyard workers.

 

[One Brow]

This situation is absolutly nothing like individuals voluntarily electing to take out a college loan, for their own benefit, with the expectation that they will someday have to repay the loan.

In both cases, they are taking government money to pay other individuals. The differences you mentioned are valid, but "absolutely nothing like" seems off. It's typical political spin.

 

[fishonjazz]

They way people use the term fascism varies wildly. I wouldn't necessarily call any of this fascism, but there are elements of authoritarianism, anti-liberalism, and autocracy. Again, I'm not agreeing that it is fascism, but with such a broad term people are going to use it how they see fit.

I doubt there is going to be much of a legal battle here. I know conservative commentators are suggesting there will be, but that's just posturing. There is very little to gain and much to lose from a political perspective. Everyone loves Santa Clause, no one likes the Grinch.

Regarding the student loan situation, I think there is a lack of empathy across the board. On the right, there is a lack of empathy for the ridiculous costs of college they had to walk into. Many were told since a young age that they absolutely had to go to college, and to attend the best one they could, with little attention to the cost. Some of these people are genuinely struggling and facing challenges beginning and continuing their adult lives. They might not be able to afford a home, or to have a family. On the left, there is a lack of empathy for those that made different choices based on the education and economic landscape. Some chose not to go to college because of the cost. Some parents scrapped and saved and suffered to pay for college without taking loans. I myself worked a full-time night job throughout college. I didn't have time for parties, extra-curriculars, internships, etc. Every day felt like a double-shift. I was miserable for much of those five-ish years it took to graduate. For those who chose to endure their suffering before or durring college, instead of after, this might feel like a slap in the face. More empathy is needed across the board.

Good post.
From looking at social media regarding the student loan forgiveness its seems that the prevailing attitude of those upset about it amounts to "hey, it sucked for me going through college broke and then struggling to pay my loans back after finishing college so I want it to suck for everyone else too. They should also have to struggle!"
I hate that attitude. I think we should root for our fellow americans. I want the next generation to have it better than I did.
I see the same piss poor attitude at work. Someone will get rewarded for good work performance (employee of the month bonus of a 100 dollar gift card for example) and I will just hear so many people bitching about how it isn't fair that they didn't get a gift card too. Or one shift boss will buy pizza for their shift and the next shift will complain. Im always happy for those who got pizza or a gift card even if I didn't get it. Its not like something was taken away from me.
Society has gotten so selfish and me first about everything. Its lame.

 

[fishonjazz]

Not sure of the comparison between an entity receiving a PPP loan (and it subsequently being forgiven), and student loan forgiveness for individuals.

When businesses or entities applied for PPP Loans, it was for the purpose of retaining employees during a period in which governments were requiring people to stay home (and possibly not work). While the title is misleading, the PPP was not really a loan, every entity expected to be eligible for forgiveness, which had to be stated in the application. So as long as you met the compliance requirements (mainly being that you didn't fire, lay-off, or furlough workers), you received forgiveness. In essence, it was more like a grant award than a loan.

Of course, there are/were a litany of entities that received these funds that ended up not really needing them (or outright lied on the application). However, at the commencement of the program, nobody really knew what the ultimate impact of the pandemic and government shut-downs would have on their organizations. So it's hard to fault many of them they received the award.

As someone who has audited quite a number of PPP recipients, I can confirm that at least for some organizations, the PPP loan was the only thing that kept employees on the payroll while the government forced business closures.

This situation is absolutly nothing like individuals voluntarily electing to take out a college loan, for their own benefit, with the expectation that they will someday have to repay the loan.

Thanks for the info

 

[Safetydan]

So now the majority rule, of white upper-class, is diminishing and they feel their power being threatened, and they see many others in their "class" are getting behind the wave of change. So the solution for the minorit

Good post.
From looking at social media regarding the student loan forgiveness its seems that the prevailing attitude of those upset about it amounts to "hey, it sucked for me going through college broke and then struggling to pay my loans back after finishing college so I want it to suck for everyone else too. They should also have to struggle!"
I hate that attitude. I think we should root for our fellow americans. I want the next generation to have it better than I did.
I see the same piss poor attitude at work. Someone will get rewarded for good work performance (employee of the month bonus of a 100 dollar gift card for example) and I will just hear so many people bitching about how it isn't fair that they didn't get a gift card too. Or one shift boss will buy pizza for their shift and the next shift will complain. Im always happy for those who got pizza or a gift card even if I didn't get it. Its not like something was taken away from me.
Society has gotten so selfish and me first about everything. Its lame.

I'm with you here mostly. Just one thing, using your example of pizza at work, the people complaining about this are essentially saying "I didn't get pizza, but you guys all got pizza, therefore there should be no pizza ever." I'd much prefer they see the inherent value in the pizza (student loan forgiveness) and instead of advocating for pizza parties to never occur, they should ask for pizza parties too. I'm fine with that. I agree that they deserve nice things and a government that works for them as well.

 

[AlaskanAssassin]

There may be some lack of empathy, but the responses in general from right-leaning people make me wonder if they even remember the parable of the vineyard workers.

My guess is that less than 10% of Americans know what that parable is and a fraction of that would be able to understand and apply it.

 

[Safetydan]

I'm with you here mostly. Just one thing, using your example of pizza at work, the people complaining about this are essentially saying "I didn't get pizza, but you guys all got pizza, therefore there should be no pizza ever." I'd much prefer they see the inherent value in the pizza (student loan forgiveness) and instead of advocating for pizza parties to never occur, they should ask for pizza parties too. I'm fine with that. I agree that they deserve nice things and a government that works for them as well.

Unless you're ****ing rich of course, then just go **** yourself. Thanks!