On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” White House Senior Adviser for Public Engagement Keisha Lance Bottoms responded to concerns that President Joe Biden’s student loan debt program will result in working-class people paying for the loans of people making six figures by stating that “when you have that much relief for millions of people across this country, then it benefits everyone in this country,” and criticizing Republicans.
Host Jake Tapper asked, “[B]ecause there isn’t a mechanism to pay for it, Wharton, I think, estimates that this is going to cost every taxpayer $2,000, and I think one of the criticisms from Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH), the Democrat who’s running for Senate there, is that, ultimately, this is going to mean that some people who make under $100,000 a year are going to be paying off the loans of people who make six figures because the ceiling for this is $125,000 for an individual, $250,000 for a couple. I mean, isn’t that just true? Isn’t Tim Ryan’s objection to this accurate, that you’re going to have working-class people who didn’t go to college paying for loans for people who make six figures?”
Bottoms responded, “Well, the irony of that, Jake, is that you have Republicans across this country who are criticizing this, but these are the same people who have given billions of dollars in tax cuts to corporations, who’ve run up the deficit in this country, and they weren’t concerned about everyday working people then. And so, the president has taken a huge step. I would venture to say probably one of the biggest steps in the history of our country, to make sure that students are able to have a fair chance of starting their careers, of starting families, of being able to buy houses without being saddled with student loan debt. What we know is that the cost of education in this country has gone up significantly over the past several decades and that we also know that just finishing high school is often not enough. And so, for the 45 million borrowers across this country, this is significant relief. And when you have that much relief for millions of people across this country, then it benefits everyone in this country, whether you are a Democrat or a Republican. And I would venture to say that many of these borrowers, [these] 45 million people who will be eligible, are probably Independents, Republicans, and Democrats. So, it’s going to benefit the entire country.”
Bottoms added that many unions support the plan.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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