In the government guaranteed student loan program, or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL), the banks were the “middle man” between the government and the student. Later on, the government instituted the direct loan program to add competition and save taxpayer dollars. Initially it did just that and the rules and regulations helped assure an equitable relationship between the bank and government. However, over time the banks engaged in fiduciary rewards (payola) to various schools and universities to use their bank exclusively.
As with all schemes, it grew bigger and bigger, bilking the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over the years. However, each year banks spent (tax deductible) millions of dollars on huge conferences, advertisements, promotional material and fiduciary incentives to lure businesses and schools to their loan process.
When President Obama took office, he successfully pushed to reverse this loan policy and remove the middleman, saving a huge amount of taxpayer money. The Wall Street banksters’ student loan cash cow was eliminated and the GOP big-biz cheerleaders are not happy.
Pay attention to history; Wall Street’s policy of greed over patriotism is destroying this country. GOP student loan obstructionism is intended to make it harder and, for some lower-income/middle-class kids, impossible to get an education that will give them some kind of competitive edge in today’s global market. It guarantees that advantage only for the rich and for our international competition.
Every other major power in the world guarantees and promotes free education to their kids to gain this advantage. Not the USA. We’re No. 1 — in foolishness — and that’s why other countries are running all over America.
The GOP loves to scream free market, free market, free market! How are these deprived kids supposed to contend with foreign competitors who are not hobbled by this GOP policy and a huge loan debt like our kids are? These banksters sold us out before and they’ll do it again. And the GOP has the nerve to call themselves patriots. The gall!
Jude Smallwood
Royal Palm Beach
