Would-Be Elites Could Use a Break

By SAM URETSKY

The librarian rides on a bicycle
The bricklayer drives a new Nash
The former has high psychic income
But the latter gets paid off in cash

It’s an old song. It has to be, because Nash automobiles went out of business in 1954. Still, it has some current relevance. When President Biden proposed a $10,000 credit towards paying off student loans there was an automatic outcry (in politics all outcries are automatic) that it was a gift to the elite – that people who had already paid off their student loans were being cheated.

The plan would forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for tens of millions of Americans, a move that will provide unprecedented relief for borrowers. There are about 40 million people who have outstanding student loans, and $10,000 in relief, or even $20,000 in some cases, would be a game changer in their lives.

The proposal has proven to be divisive even among Democratic candidates for office. According to the New York Times, “Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes of Wisconsin, both Black and both hoping to be in the Senate next year, were supportive. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, a Democrat in a tight race for re-election and running as a moderate conciliator, was highly critical. ...Yet Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, another Democrat seeking re-election in a swing state as a bipartisan moderate, backed the plan.” The Times also noted that Representative Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, also running for the Senate as a voice of the working class, called it a gift to those on a path to success at the expense of Ohioans who had been shut out of higher education.

Red states quickly objected. Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, South Carolina, Kansas and Arkansas sued the administration on Sept. 29. Arizona also filed a lawsuit, which is pending in the District of Arizona. At the same time the administration closed the forgiveness program to borrowers with loans issued by private banks but guaranteed by the federal government. This apparently was an attempt to avoid lawsuits by states that invest in such loans, including Arkansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

On a personal level there has been evidence of resentment by people who have claimed that this plan is a gift to the elite. Arguably every past act that expanded government benefits to some group has drawn resentment from those who lived under previous, harsher conditions. The 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote, didn’t include provision for older women to have extra votes to make up for the elections they had missed. The GI Bill was passed in 1944, and provided benefits, including housing and education benefits, for veterans of WW II and later conflicts, but offered nothing to veterans of previous conflicts.

Also, the claim that people with college educations are an elite is highly questionable, at least in financial terms. While a graduate of the School of Business from the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania is far more likely to reach the upper limits of income than almost anybody else, there are many white-collar occupations that pay no more than skilled trades, or so little more that the extra income isn’t enough to pay off a student loan.

In contrast, many of the skilled trades are learned through an apprenticeship, which does offer pay and benefits. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a librarian with a master’s degree would have a median salary of $61,190/year. This number is probably skewed since it includes the well-paid library directors in academia and government. The salary of a local librarian would be considerably lower. Meanwhile the BLS estimates that masonry workers have a median income of $48,040.

While the apprentice’s salary might be minimum wage, the cost of UC Berkeley for a California resident would approach $40,000/year. The University of Mississippi has much lower prices for state residents, about $20,000/year, but for out of state students it approaches $40,000. The median salary of an elementary school teacher is listed at $61,350 while a plumber has a median salary of $59,880, but one occupation starts at tens of thousands in a hole, payable at rates as high as 13% per year.

Yes, psychic income matters, but if you go by income, the resentment may be misplaced. Oh yes, some television news anchors are paid millions a year, but the median salary for News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists is about $48,300/year and the number of job openings is in decline, so buy a newspaper and stop watching Fox. Facts matter.

Sam Uretsky is a writer and pharmacist living in Louisville, Ky. Email sdu01@outlook.com.

From The Progressive Populist, November 15, 2022

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