Posts Tagged ‘student loan debt’

Democrats are the vote-buying party

Posted: September 4, 2022 by John Ruberry in elections, News/opinion, opinion/news, politics
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Willie Wilson billboard in 2016 on Chicago’s West Side

By John Ruberry

“Since the 1930s the technique of buying votes with the voters’ own money has been expanded to an extent undreamed of by earlier politicians.” Milton Friedman.

“But it can also be said that the social largesse of the boss system, the food, coal, clothing, and jobs provided for the needy, was there when it counted–with no delay and no paperwork–for those loyal to the system.” David McCullough, at the opening of the PBS American Experience documentary, “The Last Boss.”

Democratic politics has gone from handing out free stuff, ploys used by machine politicians including James M. Curley of Boston and Richard J. Daley of Chicago, to handing out free stuff again. In between, the social programs created Franklin D. Roosevelt, proved to be a better and more popular distributor of goodies. Daley, unlike most of the other big city bosses, adopted to the times a bit; he was able to siphon a generous chunk of the funds from Lyndon B. Johnson’s Model Cities boondoggle, for instance. 

Last month President Joe Biden, like a Democratic boss of old, in a legally tenuous move, announced that he would forgive $10,000 to $20,000 in student loan debt. That debt of course won’t disappear, federal taxpayers will get stuck with the tab.

You’ve heard about Dr. Jill Biden. The first lady uses that title because she has doctorate in education. Chicago has millionaire businessman Dr. Willie Wilson, who according to ABC Chicago, “is the recipient of a Doctor of Divinity degree from Mt. Carmel Theological Seminary, a Doctor of Humane Letters from Chicago Baptist Institute International, Honorary Doctorate in Humanitarianism from Swisher Bible College and a Doctorate in Humanitarianism from Denver Institute of Urban Studies and Adult College.” I haven’t heard of those schools either.

Wilson is a political gadfly. He has run for mayor of Chicago three times, including his current attempt at the office, as well as for US senator and president. But he is best known as a man who gives away stuff, through his foundation, of groceries, PPE masks, groceries, and gasoline. The local media falls for his ploy–and to be fair, they have been placed in a trap, as their audience likes freebies. Who doesn’t?

Oh, Wilson favors slavery reparations.

Laura Washington, a far-left columnist for the Chicago Tribune, rightly condemned the “Willie Wilsonization of politics” in a column ironically published two days before Biden announced his student loan debt forgiveness plan. And she didn’t stop with Wilson. First up was Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

From that Trib column, paid registration may by required:

Thanks to an “avalanche” of federal stimulus funds, Lightfoot is “running for reelection armed with a seemingly bottomless gift bag of giveaways that includes everything from gas cards, Ventra cards, bicycles, locks and helmets to more than $1,000-per-household in rebates to defray the cost of security cameras, outdoor motion sensor lighting, cloud storage and GPS trackers to hunt down vehicles in the event of an auto theft or carjacking,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported in June. 

Lightfoot’s “Chicago Moves,” is the city’s $12 million transit response to skyrocketing fuel costs and inflation. It will distribute up to 50,000 prepaid $150 gas cards and 100,000 prepaid $50 transit cards to Chicago residents. 

Earlier this year, Lightfoot pushed through a controversial guaranteed income program for low-income families. The pilot program will provide no-strings-attached $500 payments to 5,000 Chicago families per month for a year. The recipients were chosen through a lottery system.

For months, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who is running for reelection in the Nov. 8 election, has ballyhooed a $1.8 billion tax relief plan in his campaign ads. It provides short-term tax reductions and freezes on purchases of gas, groceries and school supplies.

Pritzker’s “tax cuts” are quite dishonest. His gasoline tax reduction only delays a mandated tax hike–Illinoisans pay the second-highest gas taxes in the nation–until, how convenient, after Election Day. Gas station owners are required to post signs touting Pritzker’s tax “cut.” Those who refuse face a $500-a-day fine. The grocery tax “cut,” which also comes with a requirement that grocers post signage about it, although non-compliant grocers don’t face face a fine for refusing to obey. Next year, when presumably Pritzker has been sworn in for a second term, the grocery taxes return.

Because of unfunded public worker pension debt, both Chicago and Illinois face enormous fiscal challenges. In regards to those pensions, Lightfoot and Pritzker are doing what their predecessors have done worst–kicking the can down the road.

Amazingly, Pritzker is considering a presidential run. His chances of winning are dismal, I offer the reasons why here. But if Pritzker somehow succeeds in 2024, imagine all of the vote-buying possibilities for him! He already has the physique of Santa Claus. On the other hand, Christmas comes just once a year. The federal government is with us every day.

John Ruberry regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.

Can You Use Student Loans to Pay Off Credit Cards?

Posted: August 30, 2021 by datechguy in education
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MB-one, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

You’ve tried everything to pay off your credit card debt, but nothing’s working. Those high interest rates, for one, are keeping you from eating into your principal. But you do have a student loan coming, and the thought occurs: can you use student loans to pay off credit cards? Good question.

Let’s see.

The Issue

You’re supposed to use student loans to defray or pay the cost of your higher education. Still, it’s understandable to consider whether you can use the cash for other stuff, like erasing credit card obligations. 

The bad news is that it just isn’t wise to tap your student loan to pay off your plastic. Why? Well, for one thing, what happens if you don’t have enough funds to cover your education? Will you have to take out another loan? And get in even more debt? You can see where this is going. What’s more, there may be restrictions on what you’re able to do with the student loan.

There are things you should know and do before seriously considering funneling your funds to your debt instead of that Ancient Civilization 101 textbook. 

See What Your Loan Agreement Says

As per the Department of Education, your loan is supposed to go toward “educational expenses.” In addition to tuition and room and board, those expenses include books, equipment such as computers, school transportation and childcare costs.

Darn, right? But wait. If you charge any of those expenses on a credit card, you could ostensibly use your loan to pay them off. The rub, though, is that if you have other, personal expenses mingled with your school expenses, you’re paying for those ineligible expenses as well.

If you have a private student loan, though, how you can use that cash is up to the lender. That’s where your loan agreement comes in, so be sure to read the fine print. Don’t expect any major departures from federal loan guidelines, however.

Don’t Depend on Bankruptcy

It’s nearly impossible to have your student loan debt taken care of through bankruptcy, giving you an additional reason to not use your loan to clear your credit card obligations. What makes it so challenging is that the burden is on you to prove that the loans have strained your finances – a difficult task even if your payments are difficult to manage. Credit debt relief can be messy, but it’s doable.

Note that you CAN discharge credit card debt in bankruptcy. But even if you expect no issues handling future debts, you don’t want to set yourself up for something you’ll be sorry for later.

Using Your Student Loan to Pay Off Cards Could Squeeze Your Finances Later

If you have the option to put off student loan payments until school is done, that makes using your loan for credit card debt enticing. We get it, particularly since such loans have relatively low interest rates. 

However, mixing your credit card debt in with your school debt could put you in a financial mess once school is done. And that’s no way to start your life’s next chapter.

What Are My Options Then?

If you’re in college and have trouble paying your credit cards, the first thing you should do is cease using plastic until you can get a handle on things. You also might want to figure out a way to bring in more cash. Then, you should consider getting rid of your highest-interest debts first, while monitoring your credit scores. 

So, can you use student loans to pay off credit cards? You may be able to get away with it – in the short term. But is it a good idea? Nope. There are other ways to handle credit card debt that won’t hamstring you in the long run.