I have a lot of FEELS about this upcoming subject, so
forgive me if I’m not artful with my prose. Today, on MSNBC they were
discussing student loan rates. And I
linked to an article talking about how State schools used to receive a lot more
taxpayer funding. They were therefore cheaper and required less in student
loans. A liberal follower of mine said,
“These kids take out more than they need in Stafford loans, use it to party,
and then don’t want to pay it back”
(paraphrased). Seriously? This myth is out there now? More from my
follower, “I don’t mind paying for people who really want an ed, but these kids
want me to pay for their kegger”. …this wasn’t from some RWNJ. This was from a
lib!
Where to begin? The max Pell Grant is just short of $6,000
for a year. The max Stafford loan is $12,500. W/out additional funding you’re not going to school, much less
throwing a kegger. The only people doing that have Mommy and Daddy’s money to
spend on school.
This, to me, is a symptom of a much larger problem we have
allowed to fester in our society. We
allowed ourselves to believe the bootstrap myth. Either in our own lives or in
the lives of the successful we idolize. And it’s a lie.
Why is it so easy to believe that people are content to
struggle daily, and yet so hard to believe the game was rigged by the very
wealthy? If you, yourself, want to live a better life. If you, yourself, want
to provide a better life for your kids. Then WHY do you believe that isn’t true
for 97% of human beings? I DO NOT GET THIS…
The other day in my Dr.s office a woman was complaining that
her daughter didn’t get reimbursed for providing Home Health care to a disabled
youth (PCA) because she filed the paperwork wrong. To quote the Mother”
Punishing people who want to work”.
No, wrong, the opposite is the case. Every hoop that exists
for stuff like this is because of people like her. People who insist there is a
vast number of people who want to do nothing. People who insist there is an
epidemic of Medicaid fraud… so the government makes more hoops. Sets the
poverty level too low. Makes the paperwork daunting and confusing. And then
people like this woman’s daughter hit the wall…and place the blame at the feet
of the poor…
When are we going to wake up? Please tell me it will be
soon. Tell me we will do it before the safety net disappears completely? Why
are we fighting our poor(er) neighbors? Why are playing the 1%’s game for them?
I'm so glad you wrote on this topic. I saw those comments but didn't respond because the 140 character limit could not have done justice in allowing an explanation of how wrong this viewpoint is. Anybody who views people as freeloaders who don't want to work hasn't spent much time with the people they're trashing. This particular comment was narrow minded on so many levels, not to mention offensive as someone who worked my ass off, tried to borrow responsibly, and still found myself drowning under a $650/month student loan payment. Thank goodness there are voices of sanity out there like yourself, Angie.
ReplyDeleteYour "feels" are always inspired and well considered. Ive had the experience of missing pay cycles because the arcane paper work that was necessary to get medicaid authorization wasnt completed in time. I cant understand blaming this on the people who are struggling and depending on the social safety net for assistance.. This only happens because there is a party in America that makes it a moral imperative to multiply the hardships of the people who need these services ( and by extension the hardships of the working class people who provide them), and who are peddling these tales of the lazy, corrupt poor to justify it.
ReplyDelete