Bob BrooksCan Politicians Really Give Away Free College and Wipe Away Student Loan Debt?
It is that dreadful time of the 4 year cycle where we will be covered up in politics for the next 18 months. In order to get elected you have to make some pretty big outrageous promises. It is about, in a sense, buying votes. After all, if you had student loan debt, wouldn't you be tempted to vote for the candidate that was promising to wipe that out for you?
How can they make these promises. It comes down to two realities of politics you need to know and they all to do it.
You get elected because you are willing to spend money you don't have
You act as if some fairy godmother is going to use a wand and make all of that debt you created go away
Let's take Senator Elizabeth Warren for example. If you want her as President, you better pray for the fairy godmother because her presidency would cost a lot of money.
If you like well over 100 trillion dollars of new debt, she is the one for you. Here is what she wants to do:
Green New Deal and its $94 trillion estimated cost over 10 years
The Medicare for All concept - $32.6 trillion
Assuming a U.S. population of about 330 million, that would amount to just under $400,000 per man, woman and child
Battling the opioid problem in America- $100 billion
Canceling student debt and offering free public college - $1.25 to $1.565 trillion
Universal child care - $700 billion
The magic of spending money that you don't have has been a mainstay of politicians for decades. However, now it is getting way out of control. With debt you can create any level of prosperity. The inconvenient truth is that you have to pay it back and with every dollar of debt that is produced the weaker we get as a country.