The Liberal Patriot: Bernie Sanders was (Mostly) Right
2-4 years of post-secondary technical training, apprenticeships, and traditional college should be a public good available to all who are interested and qualify—funded by state and federal taxes.
https://theliberalpatriot.substack.com/p/bernie-sanders-was-mostly-right
University of California, Riverside is the top ranked university in the country for social mobility. A true public good.
By John Halpin, The Center for American Progress - Senior Fellow; Co-Director, Politics and Elections
President Biden’s decision to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loans has produced cries of joy and support in many quarters and frustration and anger in others. Setting aside the expected partisan positions on the issue, is the plan a good idea on balance? Yes. No. Maybe. Too early to tell. Who knows? It’s hard to evaluate at this point separate from personal or political reactions.
If implemented, Biden’s debt forgiveness plan will undoubtedly be a huge relief to millions of people. At the same time, as numerous critics have stated, the plan seems a bit half-baked and prone to all sorts of unintended economic consequences, legal challenges, and perceptions of the government favoring the privileged. President Biden himself shared many of these concerns before shifting his position.
Two specific criticisms of the plan are worth taking seriously: (1) Debt forgiveness does little to nothing for most current and all future students in terms of addressing the absurd costs of college; and (2) It’s manifestly unfair for the federal government to dedicate substantial public resources to reduce debts for one class of Americans but not another based solely on their education choices.
A suitable response to these shortcomings will not be found in either doing nothing about the matter or in creating a new status quo of debt forgiveness, more indebtedness, and more debt forgiveness—the expressed or implicit positions of the two major parties. Instead, perhaps the best solution to the higher education affordability crisis lies in the most social democratic approach on offer: America should treat post-secondary education—including both traditional 4-year college and other technical and apprenticeship programs—as a public good that is open to everyone but not required and paid for by all Americans through taxes.
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Over their lives not only did many millions of people come to believe in them, but they formed policy in many states that subsidized education, as well as federal education assistance, seeing it as investment in both "the people" and society. (Then in the late 1970s began the national shift toward a more conservative anti-government, anti-tax, anti-education mood,...)
In any case, surely what's most meaningful isn't that he is vocally on board with our educational ideals, but WHAT LEGISLATION HE ACCOMPLISHES WITH THE POWER THE ELECTORATE GAVE HIM?
Voters send people to government TO TURN THEIR TALK INTO ACTION. We adore successful LEGISLATIVE actions that change lives for the better.
So let's mention something Sanders has ACCOMPLISHED: He just cast one of 50 senate votes that got the Democrats' "Inflation Reduction Act passed. That is the most significant climate bill ever created and a really BFD! And Sanders voted for it! It couldn't have happened without that vote for.
