According to The Washington Times President Trump canceled federal student loan debts Wednesday for tens of thousands of veterans who are 100% disabled, saying it’s the nation who owes them instead for their service. I’ve copied part of the article below and the full story is here.
At the 75th annual American Veterans convention in Louisville, Kentucky, the president signed an executive action directing the Education Department to eliminate “every penny” of student loan debt for about 25,000 disabled veterans who owe an average of $30,000.
The president said the action is worthy of veterans “who have made immense sacrifices, the ultimate sacrifice in many ways, for our nation.”
“That’s hundreds of millions of dollars in student debt held by our severely wounded warriors — it’s gone forever,” the president said.
Mr. Trump called to the stage retired Sgt. Katherine Cassell, who developed severe lung problems and other ailments after serving two tours in Iraq with the Army, Navy and Air Force. She is now working toward a degree at the University of Nevada.
“This is an amazing relief on my family, as well as — I know — many thousands of veterans,” she told the president.
I’m not a fan of forgiving student debt (they volunteered to take the loan) but if any one deserves debt forgiveness, it is U.S. veterans who are disabled. They put their lives in harms way and came out of it having to live the rest of their lives with the consequences. A free education helping them get on with their lives, as well as families makes a lot of sense.
Way better than free education for the illegals and able bodied – let them find a way, just like the rest of us did.
I’m with you for the most part of what you say. I used my ‘GI Bill’ and got all edgeumakadid up. There was a path (at least for me) to get the education I needed/wanted without any real out of pocket costs.
I earned my benefits. These folk earned theirs, albeit a different set. They knew this going in. The question can be thought of as how best to spend the nations resources (given that they are going to be spent on something–zero sum assumption). Trump has decided, and I agree with him, that they are best expended on reinforcing a sense of nationalism and patriotism. I can’t help but wonder if at the end of the Vietnam War the same type of actions Trump now undertakes would have done more to heal the country.
If I had my druthers no public funds would be used for any such purposes and the government would be about 10 percent of the size it is now. All things being equal (again, zero sum) might as well ease the burden of our warriors.