The Federal Reserve estimates that Americans owe more than $1.7 trillion in student loans. A group of progressive Democrats – including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) – took to the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday to demand President Joe Biden cancel student loan debt. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) also urged President Biden to forgive student loans for nearly 48 million people. However, many online commentators pointed out some glaring issues for her demanding U.S. taxpayer money be used to cancel student loans, including her own.
“And yes, I worked full time, Monday through Friday, and took weekend classes to get my law degree,” said the 45-year-old Tlaib – who makes $174,000 per year as a United States Representative. “And still, close to $200,000 in debt. And I still owe over $70,000 and most of it was interest. Most of it was our own government making money and profit off of me.”
Tlaib called on President Biden to use an executive order to wipe out student loan debt.
The video clip of Tlaib calling for student loans to be canceled caught the eye of many who noticed some issues with the Democratic Representative’s argument for loan forgiveness.
Former Congresswoman and physician Nan Hayworth: “That’s not the taxpayers’ fault, lady. You bought it, you own it. Your debts are YOUR responsibility.”
Attorney Harmeet K. Dhillon: “You’re making nearly $200k now, well above the average salary for a lawyer in DC, though you would not likely make that in the private sector, having passed the bar three years after graduating and apparently never having worked as an attorney. Pay your debt, what is the issue?”
Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton: “Government politician and communist complains about working ‘full time,’ wants to taxpayers to pay off her debts.”
Attorney A.G. Hamilton: “1) forgiving student debt would exacerbate the problem. It shouldn’t cost that much to get a law degree, but it does specifically because gov’t subsidizes it & schools aren’t responsible for recovery. 2) She makes 175K a year+… Why would we cancel debt for someone like her?”
National Review contributor Pradheep J. Shanker: “Say a single woman who makes almost $200k a year is commissioning about her student loans #FirstWorldProblems.”
Podcast host Michael Knowles: “I really do not mean this as merely a partisan snipe or personal attack. But, having listened to this woman speak, do you think her education is worth $200K+? Does the intellectual and spiritual formation she received seem worth even a tenth of that?”
Conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza: “Translation: I’m a bovine idiot. I’m terrible at law, as I make contracts I don’t intend to keep. I’m also inept at math, since I can’t figure out how to calculate interest over time. Happily, for an irresponsible moron, I’ve landed myself in the perfect place: CONGRESS!”
National Review writer Charles C. W. Cooke: “There’s almost certainly nothing that anyone cares less about than this.”
Daily Caller correspondent Michael Ginsberg: “Within a year of graduating from law school, Rashida Tlaib was elected to the Michigan legislature.”
The Daily Wire writer Ian Haworth: “That’s 40% of your minimum annual income. Pay it off already.”
The Western Journal writer Randy DeSoto: “Why in the world should the American taxpayer be in the hook for the education choices people make? More govt money drives up tuition costs as it does in pretty much any arena of life.”
Actor Matthew Marsden: “Your choice. No one else should have to pay for it.”