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Subscribe to RSSUpdated at 12:32p.m. ET: Republicans have blocked the Senate from debating a Democratic bill keeping interest rates on college loans from doubling this summer for 7.4 million students.
Republicans say they support heading off higher rates on subsidized Stafford loans. They oppose how Democrats would pay for the measure — raising payroll taxes on high-earning stockholders of some privately owned corporations.
The vote was largely symbolic because the measure had no chance of approval in the Republican-run House. It was also designed with November's elections in mind because it could produce fodder for Democratic commercials against GOP senators.
Republicans want a vote on their own bill freezing interest rates and paid for by abolishing a health care fund.
Tuesday's vote was 52-45 to debate the measure — eight votes short of the 60 needed.
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Both parties are OK with the lower interest rate. The only difference is Obama wants to raise taxes to pay for it, and the republicans want to cut something to pay for it. I vote to cut something. The government wastes so much money, it should be able to locate some worthless programs to cut. Maybe they need to eliminate the Las Vegas trips or something!
Or F22s that are unsafe or ships that even the military does not want.l
GAO says that 180 billion is wasted in the bloated federal bureaucracy each year. Surely Obama can live with just 174 billion wasted and use 6 billion for this program.
How about we cut corporate welfare? Sound reasonable?
The simple truth is that the Obama's failed economic policies haven't produced jobs for young adults, so Obama encourages them to go deep in debt with student loans by continuing with their education.
Maybe if Obama heeded his own words about the economy, there would be jobs for this young adults.
The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies.
And the cost of our debt is one of the fastest growing expenses in the Federal budget. This rising debt is a hidden domestic enemy, robbing our cities and States of critical investments in infrastructure like bridges, ports, and levees; robbing our families and our children of critical investments in education and health care reform; robbing our seniors of the retirement and health security they have counted on.
Every dollar we pay in interest is a dollar that is not going to investment in America's priorities. Instead, interest payments are a significant tax on all Americans–a debt tax that Washington doesn't want to talk about. If Washington were serious about honest tax relief in this country, we would see an effort to reduce our national debt by returning to responsible fiscal policies.
Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that "the buck stops here." Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.
I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America's debt limit.
Sen. Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., (Senate – March 16, 2006)
The GAO has said that there is 180 Billion in waste and duplication in the federal bureaucracy each year. Cut out 6 billion of the waste and use that to fund the loans. Surely the Obama administration can go on with 3% less waste in the executive branch bureaucracy! Quit taxing anyone until after you stop flushing that 180 billion down the toilet! It is only 6 billion Obama! You can live on only 174 billion of wasted taxpayer money!
This is not about one party loving students and the other hating them. It is about one party that doesn't care about wasting taxpayer money and one that would like to see the money spent efficiently! Even those of you who pay no federal income taxes can see that it would be better to not waste the money - can't you?
Since we currently add $1.5 Trillion a year, to our now $15.7 Trillion dollar debt, how do the Democrats plan to pay for this largess? Raise Taxes! Of course, "tax and spend!" Since it's the Democrats in charge, they spend much more than the added revenue too! Vote them all out! Obama, One and Done!
Dahly - You support corporate welfare? That's what this is about.
And by the way, you're off by about 50% on your annual deficit number, not that $1 Trillion is good, but it was $1.4 when Obama took office. IT'S GONE DOWN, IDIOT. Get off the Hannity show, it rots your brain.
What a fool. Obama has fixed anything in the Economy? NO! He's too busy golfing, shooting hoops, vacationing and fund raising. Screw the 23 million unemployed, 19% underemployed and the 86 million CNN reports are no longer looking for work.
Another Obama do to list, hide what really caused the death of Andrew Breitbarts. The ONLY known witness to his death, Christopher Lassiter, has vanished. Obama's Chicago Mafia Politics at play here. http://www.crimefilenews.com/2012/04/andrew-breitbarts-autopsy-report-lacks.html
I would like to see borrowing amounts and interest rates
tied to the type of degree and completion of degree and more incentive based,
meaning rates are set at a maximum basis point say 6.5-7% and then various
discounts applied at the time of graduation, based on the degree earned. So
someone with a completed Computer Science, Math, and Teaching degree would get
a 4-5% discount, a general business degree might get a 2-3% discount, and a
Contemporary Art History Degree or other humanities type degree would render 0-1%
discount maybe!
For example someone on here made the comment my daughter got
a degree in sociology and is working with kids with autism, she doesn't make a
lot of money but she is happy.
Well my response to that is great it’s not that I think a
degree in sociology is unimportant, and I think it’s noble that she works with
special needs kids and can do so at a low wage and be happy. But what I would
like to see is less sociology graduates that work as therapists with special
needs kids and more doctors and bio-engineers and scientists working on finding
cures, prevention and better therapy treatments for these kids. To do social
interaction therapy for kids with Autism, albeit important, should not require
a four year degree, perhaps a two year. A four year would apply if it was a
behavior scientist that had much more emphasis on the medical aspect. Kind of
like the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist similar but very
different.
The same can be said for many people who get other similar
types of well how to put it nicely “basically overpriced and worthless degrees”
such as: Art, Art History, or any Art related
for that matter, Psychology, Sociology or Social Related (With the exception of
Social Media), Philosophy, Theology, Photography, Music, other related humanities,
ancient literature and ancient languages etc. etc..
All of these are fine it’s not that I am anti-intellectual,
and think the study or the gaining of knowledge of these types of areas are
worthless itself, it’s just the degrees are. Now this is America and people
have the right to be happy in what they want to do and what they want to study.
The problem is there isn't any employment value in a majority of these, when
compared what the market needs and is looking for.
To give you an example I am in the area of Software and IT Technology
and what I need an are looking for are people with advanced skills in math,
computer science, relational data, statistics, IT networking and or mechanical/electrical
engineering, advanced graphic design skills, software development, technical
writing, technical program/project management skills. And in addition to these
skills people should also possess a fundamental level of advanced critical
thinking, analysis and reasoning skills mixed in with an understanding of
economics and how a general business cycle works.
This does not mean a philosophy major that aced Algebra 2,
has excellent Microsoft Office Skills. It means people who possess or has the
foundation and aptitude to quickly possess the High Demand Skills to basically
be relevant in today's workforce. Sure I am not looking for mere robots that
can only calculate difficult algorithms or understand complex data mining
techniques, I think the humanities do play a role and should be a part of
these, advanced degrees. After all in the age of social media, people need to possess
these types of backgrounds to help bridge the technical aspect, but not as a
majority of the degree. As social beings it’s easy for us to relate on the
social and human aspects, at least easier than we can relate to how a computer
thinks and interacts with other computers, which is why the emphasis should be incentivizing
and making it financially easier to those trying to understand what is
difficult, complex and in high demand.
The reward for those who do is a world of many unfilled, high paying, open
positions with vast opportunities for professional and financial career growth.
So every year what we need are several million graduates with advanced math,
science and computer degrees, but the reality is we have perhaps a million or
less than a million. Instead we have the opposite we have few advanced degree
graduates, and several million art history, sociology, English Literature and ancient
Greek philosophy majors, all of which are guaranteed a job at the local
Starbucks, where they can put that 4-5 years and $60,000 of intellect to use by
pontificating and enlightening me on their personal view of what Plato really
was thinking, as I pretend to listen to what they are babbling about as I wait
for my low fat soy mocha latte. Aside from that and coming up with catchy
slogans for their protest signs at the local OWS rally, well they don’t possess
any real economic value in today’s labor market. All we are doing by keeping
rates low across the board is subsidizing and hence perpetuating people to get
easier, less challenging, oversaturated and devalued or no value degrees, which
handicaps them further after graduation form earning enough if any to pay it
back. Why????? Any philosophy majors out there want to give me the logic and
reason on that one?
I know it sounds harsh, trust me I don’t take pleasure in presenting it as
harsh, it’s just the truth. So the solution isn’t that people should not have
interest in humanities, and yes for some who are naturally exceptional in those
areas they should pursue, but the 80/20 rule exists in almost every facet of
work and study so for every 100 sociology or related majors 20 percent will
actually use it and use it in a way to grow over the course of a long career,
but 80 percent won’t use it at all, won’t make it part of a bigger life plan,
and will take any job that pays something where they are likely to be unhappy,
less secure financially and generally grow apathetic at every institution from
government, big business, banks, etc. etc. etc. as the fault for their career
limitations and failures. Yes there was a time when it used to be just having a
college degree alone no matter what the major was enough, enough to get your
foot in the door and then wing it the rest of the way up the ladder with hard
work, time and experience. Unfortunately that’s not the case today, for the
high demand stuff people have to know their @!$%#, and it’s easy to tell from
those who don’t.
So when it comes to education loan interest rates, rates
should be lower to incentivize more to pursue degrees that are hard and
advanced and despite the short term difficulty and pain will benefit them long-term.
Advanced match, computer and science graduates are the least risky in terms of
the demand and pay; it simply comes down to mitigating risk a person with an
advanced degree is going to be more likely to pay it back, than someone who
does not. Just like traditional credit, those who have a good FICO score gets a
better rate, those with a @!$%#ty score gets a higher rate. Studying what you
want do to be happy should not be criteria, and furthermore by getting an
advanced degree, doesn’t mean people can never pursue or go into a more
artistic or humanities based field, technology touches all fields so perhaps
instead of majoring in humanities and minoring in math, computers or science
they should flip it around. At least people will have skills to get a job
making good money, and can focus on longer term pursuits on the humanities, art
or history level down the road.
And for those who don’t want an advanced degree and will
only be HAPPY in life getting a degree in 4th Century Sanskrit, well
that’s fine God Speed, Good Luck and Be Happy, but remember happiness has a
price, So Pay for It, just don’t expect a subsidy in interest rates that
diminishes the overall returns to the taxpayers.
Welcome to the Information Age, ask yourself one question are
you relevant?
We have never worried about paying for anything before, why worry about it now?
Just look over the edge,like Greece,or Spain and you will know why.
Here is more proof that the Republican don't care about the middle class. Go borrow from the parent Romney is so out of touch with what the middle class has to deal with. The super rich like Romney has no idea of the struggles the middle class goes through because they never had to live those struggles. He has always been able to pay cash for whatever he wanted. No middle class family can say that. And now he and the republican party wants to screw the middle class out of medical care to protect the rich. Anyone that votes republican is voting against their own best interest.
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012
Anyone who votes for Obama is demonstrating that they hate the Constitutional, individual liberty, and fiscal responsibility in Govt
But Obama voters do love marxism, stealing from others, and totalitarian, collectivist govt
Larry, you need help.
Sounds like there is no hope for Larry.
Sorry but we pay cash for everything other than our house. We are part of the 99%. We save and have never spent more than we can afford. Saved for the kids education too. We did not buy new cars every couple of years choosing to run them into the ground. We never took money out of our house. I realize some people have legitimate hard times and I would and have helped family or friends as needed. But some of the problems are caused by overspending on things not needed. I know at least one family who does not pay their mortgage but have plenty of money to travel,rent houses down the shore, spend their days shopping or at Medival Times. Sometimes it about choice.
Larry brought common sense and the truth to this comment board. He should be hired by MSNBC Evening Cable News, they then might actually get some decent ratings and bring the truth to its nightly lineup.
Larry there is more information out there than just Faux News. Use what is between your ears for more than a hat rack. After everyone in the republican primary race slammed Bishop Romney now they find him qualified? Just another case of the republican will say anything to get elected.
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012
thank you Kurt-
Ret Msgt
I don't watch Fox News. My tv is on MSNBC most of the day (like Andrea Mitchell at this moment who is commenting on Lugar and the Tea Party)
Unlike Liberals, I am confident in my ability to research, read, and develop independent thought.
I'm not a Republican and won't be voting for Romney who is too liberal or Obama. I've been a libertarian for over 40 years after being deceived by Nixon who ran as a conservative but was more liberal than liberals.
Larry the problem is that the far left and the far right have hijacked both parties. You cannot claim to be a moderate in either party because as soon as you agree with something from the party you are criticized for it. You must believe every single thing either party says or you are wrong. Once upon a time I was a diehard republican in a family and friends completely dominated by democrats. I did not care who knew because I believe in many of the thing the republican said. However that is no longer the case with the party. It is believe and support all or nothing. You can be certain that President Obama will win. And if Ron Paul runs as a third party the republican party will done.
Somehow somewhere their might be enough educated people in Kentucky to vote and get rid of the Garbage that Mcconnell brings to the Senate. He and his protege Boehner have this Country at a stand still with their my way or the highway blubbering hate they spew. Hopefully there are enough Intelligent voters in Ohio to get rid of the loser Boehner that represents them. This turkey is head and shoulders the worst Speaker ever in this country . The voters of those two states have got to be a little more intelligent thatn to re-elct these two blockheads.
Ed,
What has harry reid let come to the floor for debate. Compare the two. They want a vote. You can't hide your self from a voting record. Then let the states decide whether on who they vote for. Let them vote. Not spend day's in debate on procedure.
McConnell - YOU are the problem, YOU are grandstanding.
End the coroporate welfare and keep the student loan interest rate as-is. That would be killing two birds with one stone in reasonable people's minds.
How many more times are Republicans going to favor the rich over everybody else with their policy making? How many times will America accept it?
And by the way, what's with G.W.'s $830,000 phone bill? Is this guy addicted to 1-900 calls? I've never heard of such a phone bill, but hey, when it's paid by struggling tax payers, why not, right?
if it was the other way, rich kids looking for a break the gop would stand tall and even fillibuster to get there way, its poor kids and middle class kids who they don't give a damn about in fact if the ryan budget would of passed all the huge tax cuts for the top would of been from these same college kids and our seniors to pay for it, they would basically end medicare by replacing it with a voucher sytem forcing you to buy into the private industry
Do the Democrats ever have a bill they pay for by making a cut in spending,instead of always increasing taxes? When a nanny society can vote themselves a living then we will soon have a failing country is that what the Democrats want???????????????
Republicans want interest rates to go up on college loans; so fewer people can go to college. If people aren't educated, they vote republican.
Jerk.
If anyone goes to college based on the interest rate of a student loan needs to get an education in common sense rather from an education let me take a Gov bailout on the student loans that I dont pay back. Ever hear of working your way through college? There is a lot more Education in starting your own business in the real work the sittting in the classroom listening to some overpaid and overrated tenured Professors. Never let your schooling get in the way of your REAL education.
Obama has taught me that money does grow on trees! Yippee!!!!!
I think that tree is called the US Taxpayer.
Let's see how far down the road Congress can kick this one. It has to last at least until November.
on the other article Romney basically told you free loading college brats to quit looking for free handouts from obama who is buying your votes
Granted, not all of us are as lucky as Obama AKA Soetoro getting a full scholarship to Occidental as a Foreign Student. His mother changing his citizenship from the US to Indonesia as a young boy surely came in handy. Too bad, he never officially changed his citizenship status back from Indonesian to American.
You don't solve the proble of a looming debt crisis by continuing to grow federal spending. It is time to hold the line on federal spending and begin to prioritize. Proposals to increase spending in one part of the budget need to be offset by cuts elsewhere. That is the only way to bring federal spending under control.
Except republicans refuse to talk about the biggies in the budget and that is TODAYS defense and senior welfare spending that eat up 3/4 of the budget...please feel free to tell us which of these programs gets 'prioritized'....
No baloney about Ryans budget that adds trllions to the debt and increases defense and senior welfare spending...
Oh well, the Republicans continue the war on the middle class.
Job1, putting young adults just starting their career as a whole OVER $1 Trillion in debt surely does NOT help them acheive the middle class. Just because Obama has declared War on Prosperity does not mean that "other side" declared War also. If he signs the "LOST" Treaty this June, it would be an actual War against US Soverity
Well everyone again the Repubs are doing their doing nothing attitude. Lets hope in November everyone remembers their attitude, disrespect for American and not doing their job. Lets hope everyone votes Democratic and and push this idiots out of office. the rest we will impeach.
I'm not surprised with the republicans fear of an educated public and all..look how they denigrate all education outside of religious indoctrination?
The typical republican is white, southern or midwestern, less educated than the population at large and likely working or worked in an out of favor industry...you know...morons
Sorry dude,
Although white, not southern or midwestern. Engineering masters of sience, husband has doctorate. Mostly r and d companies for my career. I will say I am a moderate or blend. Fiscally conservative, socially liberal. I actually voted for Obama but will not in this round
It is so ever inceasingly obvious that Republicans are only interested in gaining and controling power. They have no idea how to govern or lead. Romney is just a puppet for the extremes of the Republican Party. For those of you who are still supporting this party you better get your head out of your a-- and vote Democratic or just bend over a keep getting screwed.
It is Obama who has no clue on how to lead the government, and we have 3 years of evidence to support that fact.
We've been getting screwed from marxist Democrat liberalism for the past 100 years.
No Larry I'm pretty sure your a drone.... rhetoric does not fact make
shayward, thanks for another validation of the brainless and mentally diseased nature of liberals
so what hateful rhetoric..oh wait your helping me here..
CAN THE USA SURVIVE GIVEN
THE FOLLOWING?
The folks who are getting free stuff, don't like the folks who are paying for the free stuff,
because the folks who are paying for the free stuff can no longer afford to pay
for both the free stuff and their own stuff.
The folks who are paying for the free stuff want the free stuff to stop, and
the folks who are getting the free stuff want even more free
stuff on top of the free stuff they are already getting!
Now... The people who are forcing the people to pay for the free stuff have
told the people who are RECEIVING the free stuff, that the people who are
PAYING for the free stuff, are being mean, prejudiced, and racist.
So... The people who are GETTING the free stuff have been convinced they need
to hate the people who are paying for the free stuff by the people who are
forcing some people to pay for their free stuff, and giving them the free stuff
in the first place.
We have let the free stuff giving go on for so long that there are now more
people getting free stuff than paying for the free stuff.
Now understand this. All great democracies have committed financial suicide
somewhere between 200 and 250 years after being founded. The reason?The
voters figured out they could vote themselves money from the treasury by
electing people who promised to give them money from the treasury in exchange
for electing them.
Thomas Jefferson said it best: "The democracy (Republic) will cease to
exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those
who would not."
The United States officially became a Republic in 1776, 235
years ago. The number of people now getting free stuff outnumbers
the people paying for the free stuff. We have one chance to change that On
Nov 6th, 2012. Failure to change that spells the end of the United
States as we know it.
Since Obama took office in just over 3 years we have had 39 continuous months with an unemployment rate above 8%, and for 28 of those months unemployment was at or above 9%. His policies have managed to give us more months above an unemployment rate of 8% and more months above an unemployment rate of 9% than the totals for the entire 61 years from Jan 1948 to when he was sworn into office in 2009. In addition, the labor participation rate is now at its’ lowest level since the middle of the deep double-dip recession in 1981, over 30 years ago, because so many people have stopped looking for a job. Our only hope for this economy is to vote Obama out of office in November.
your only hope is to keep him in. he is the only one trying to get this country out of the ditch
Peter, what was the unemployment rate when Obama took office?
So you are advocating for a stronger government response, because Obama's was not large enough or effective enough (socialism)? Or are you saying the President should do less (a la Romney: not make it worse by policy (possibly not as bad as it might be) or just let it get full scale naturally worse), because they have no real control over the economy and have very ineffective policies for market corrections (free market)? Under either choice things get worse for a prolonged period of time, neither can instantly fix the economy. Our current situation is cause by the real estate bubble (loss of tax dollars), outsourcing (lack of enough jobs), deepest recession since the Great Depression (high unemployment), high government deficit (recovery from tech bubble-unfunded wars-unfunded political policies and therefore the governments inability to respond to this fiscal crisis), which of these do you propose is easily fixed by Romney or Obama or any candidate or human being on their own without strong US Congressional support and legislation (which at this time is lacking as there are no strong leaders in either house who can put the work of the American people before the political work of their party)? To blame any one person or one branch of government for the failures of DC to respond to this crisis is naive at best or political ignorance or just misleading irresponsible political mumbo jumbo.
You cannot casually say you need 60 votes to vote on a bill, you only need a majority. You need 60 votes to over come a filibuster, which (sadly) has become all to common. They are not the same thing. We need news agencies to fully inform the public on the how these things work and when parties are using Congressional procedure to play political obstruction. The people of this country have a right to have the bills proposed by the elected officials voted on in their respective houses, sans consideration of the other house or the executive branch. We sent these people to D.C. to work and get as much work done as possible. The new normal of posturing and triangulating is getting in the way of the people's work. We need to demand a new normal.
Yay... another block from the party that want's to make sure the country fails and announces that debt doesn't matter..remember Reagan proved that