The Democratic Socialist Rich People's Party

Dan Aykroyd and John Landis added a touch of social commentary to the Blues Brothers movie, in the screenplay they co-penned, with the hilarious Illinois Nazi scene. For the culturally deprived, the scene, which depicts a small group of Nazily-attired, mirthless dopes blocking a small bridge, with Henry Gibson bull-horning over the screams and curses of an angry crowd, is based on actual history and a landmark Supreme Court decision:

Well, what are you going to do about it, whitey? Just sit there? Of course not. You are going to join with us, the members of the American Socialist White People's Party.

While I intend no Godwin reference in today's commentary, the Party name did inspire its title, and I'm not going to pass up either on something so entertaining or an opportunity to remind everyone that National Socialism is a statist form of government, and bosom buddies with Communism, Soviet Socialism, Fascism, and, yes, Democratic Socialism.

On to the topic du jour: another Joe Biden attempt to destabilize the economy, sow discord, create moral hazard, and buy votes.

I speak of student loan forgiveness. His plan's current iteration threatens to forgive up to $10K of student loan debt for borrowers who earn under $150K ($300k for married couples) per year. While those who currently carry such debt will undoubtedly be quite happy at receiving such largesse from taxpayers (and, if we assume the current 3.73% interest rate, and 10 years of remaining term (half of the typical 20), it's more like $12K in absolution), almost everyone else will justifiably cry foul.

The tradesperson who went straight into apprenticeship rather than college gets... nothing.

The saver who worked and accumulated and paid out of pocket gets... nothing.

The kid whose parents mortgaged their house and/or sold assets gets... nothing.

The motivated grad who paid loans down on an accelerated schedule gets... nothing.

The college graduate who already repaid loans across the 20 (or more) year terms gets... nothing.

The person who borrowed from private lenders gets... nothing.

The person who didn't go to college gets... nothing.

Take a look at the demographics of the politically active Progressive. You'll find that the typical such person is white, college-educated, and earns over $100K per year. A whole lot of Biden's loan forgiveness will flow into that demographic.

Consider some other groups:

The people who felt they couldn't afford four year college and went to community college get a few crumbs.

The people who are drowning in six-figure debt for useless degrees will remain in dire straits.

The people who are about to go to college get nothing... yet.

Therein lies moral hazard. Hold that thought.

A cynic would be forgiven for considering that this largesse is little more than a loyalty reward to the Party's true base. We have been told, for decades, that the Democratic Party is the natural home of blue collar workers, of minority communities, and of those who believe that big government should work for the less economically advantaged in society. Yet, here we have a program that's estimated to cost $230B largely bypassing those constituencies in favor of rich white people (RWP).

It's a regressive plan, in many ways. It burdens taxpayers with added debt. It increases inflationary pressure on the dollar. It will inflate tuition costs, just as all past government aid has inflated tuition costs. And, it'll set a precedent that future Presidents of a laginiappish nature will find hard to resist. Need some votes? Cancel some more debt. Especially when prospective college students see this and figure "Sure, I'll borrow more - I probably won't have to pay it all back."

My brother and I ran a 24 hour restaurant for 20+ years. I worked days, he worked nights. That he is an attorney became common knowledge among the regulars, and so he was often solicited for free legal advice. One young man approached him, asking for guidance on $30K in credit card debt.

His plaint? "Why should I have to pay this money?"

I've lamented that America may have reached Alexander Tytler's "largess from the treasury" point in the national lifecycle. While some knucklehead who's out looking for vodka shots and strawberry cheesecake at 4 AM might be excused for seeking a selfish and immoral absolution from freely-assumed responsibility, someone who received an education worth five or six figures in debt should not be whining that repaying this debt is somehow unfair and warranting forgiveness via theft from others.

Some, myself included, believe that Biden lacks the authority to cancel student debt. It's inevitable that such a move would be challenged in court, and I'd expect such a challenge to work all the way up the ladder to the nine justices who may be the nation's last hope against a totally amok government. The attempt alone, unfortunately, would be enough to buy some votes going into the midterms. I don't think they'll be enough to save the party, but I've certainly been wrong before, and it might save a few Blue politicians. The attempt would also be a wedge for the Left's perpetual desire to undermine or stack the Court - "they wouldn't let us do right by you, so support our plans to neuter them." Which might be the point of this, were I to assume deeper thinking on Biden's part.

A perusal of the Blue Party's policies - both implemented and aspirational - tells a similar tale. The Democrats are no longer the party of the working classes or champions for the poor, minorities, and oppressed. They're the party of RWP, one that pays lip service to all those others, but engages in practices that harm them even as they tell them lies intended to keep them in the corral.

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Yours in liberty,

Peter.