Monday, February 13, 2017

Walker official dismisses student loan crisis fix with a talking point

If you are a Wisconsin Republican, and especially if you work a big job in the so-called small government of Scott Walker, you dismiss any problem with a cookie-cutter ideological talking point.

It's the Walkerite equivalent of a Trumpian Tweet.


The latest example is Walker's financial institutions' Secretary Lon E. Roberts ruling out on his boss's behalf the use of the state's low-interest borrowing rate to help students write down debt which is stunting their personal growth and the entire state's economic expansion.


For Roberts, and no doubt also for Walker's fly-specking news release editors, you just play the no-new government card, and presto! - - the problem is 'gone.'

DFI Secretary Lon E. Roberts: New bureaucracy not the answer to student debt refinancing
My God, we're looking at something as big as the Pentagon, or WisDOT, for sure:
The proposal would require Wisconsin to establish a new state authority to offer refinancing opportunities to student borrowers. This proposal would require building a significant bureaucracy and staffing it with lending experts and legal and investment advisory personnel to underwrite student loans and access securities markets to sell bonds to fund the program. This is a huge new government undertaking with many unknowns and risks. 
Of course, this is precisely what Walker did when he created and chaired the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation - - you know, a "new state authority...building a significant bureaucracy and staffing it with lending experts and legal and investment advisory personnel..."

The important difference being that Walker set up and chaired the WEDC expecting it would enhance his Presidential campaign standing as a business and government brainiac, whereas helping out everyday young debt holders doesn't offer Walker the high-profile opportunity to reward some big donors as did the WEDC.

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