When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Biden's student loan forgiveness program on Friday, I was intrigued by the reaction of South Carolina Republican Senator and GOP presidential hopeful Tim Scott who tweeted:
Biden wanted to make waitresses & mechanics pay the student loans of doctors & lawyers who make six figures. If you take out a loan, you pay it back.
For starters, Senator Scott isn't questioning the constitutionality of President Biden's student loan forgiveness, he is simply opposed to the program as are most Republicans.
Scott tries to claim working people are subsidizing the wealthy, but the income ceiling for the program is $125,000. The program has benefitted at least 43 million Americans. There aren't that many doctors and lawyers in this country, but I think there might be a few waitresses and mechanics in that group.
It is also hard to take Scott seriously when he says, "If you take out a loan, you pay it back," when several of his Republican Congressional colleagues have had their PPP loans forgiven.
While the ruling is a setback for President Biden, it does demonstrate he is trying to govern for the benefit of as many middle and working-class Americans as possible. A poll conducted in April by Reuters-Ipsos found 47% of Americans favored Biden's student loan forgiveness as compared to 41% who opposed it.
I suspect that a majority of voters, even those who don't have student loans, will take the side of President Biden's side because they see that he is on their side and the side of their family, friends and neighbors. Whereas once again, Republicans have demonstrated they don't care about middle-class and working-class Americans.
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