FORGIVING STUDENT DEBT. IT'S ECONOMICALLY AND POLITICALLY DOABLE.

UP FRONT News        August 22, 2016

"The paper that won't be bought and can't be sold."

Published by Tom Weiss
Andrew Mazzone - Media Representative and Economics Advisor
Steven Gradman - Religious and Community Liaison
Allen Smith - Economics Reporter and Internet Advisor
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 The views expressed in UP FRONT News are those of the publisher or of the contributing writer and do not necessarily represent the views of staff.

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FORGIVING STUDENT DEBT. IT'S ECONOMICALLY AND POLITICALLY DOABLE.

By Andrew Mazzone

At UP FRONT News we look on in amazement as to the actions of our wealthy citizens, who always scream for "free enterprise". Well, what we have in the USA is free enterprise for the lower and middle classes and protected market socialism for the rich. And the big boys love it.

For example, since the 2008 crash the stock market has tripled in value. It has gone up to the tune of four trillion dollars ($4,000,000,000). How was it done?  It was done through "quantitative easing", a program whereby the  banks and stock market received this money, printed out of thin air, which was given to them to initiate bank lending and investing in the real economy. And since consumer prices are kept competitive in real products by Chinese competition at that level we get stable prices and not inflation for consumers, thereby forcing all the printed money to go to speculative markets. The brokers take commissions and fees, the consumer gets status quo low growth. This is the current status.

Why does this occur? Why do the American people always end up one step behind the Goldman Sachsers of this world in terms of who gets the money and who gets the "Okey Dokey"?  One day the Americans will catch the "Okey Dokey" and all hell will break lose. But in the meantime our hopes for the future are piling up one trillion ($1,000,000,000) in debt for student loans. This to try to get only a starting foothold in life.

What if the U.S. government, instead of  giving $4,000,000,000 to the banks, gave them $3,000,000,000, and give $1,000,000,000 for student debt forgiveness? What
would we have? We would have the the debt forgiven and the students (mostly the "young people" to whom Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein refers and whose millions of votes she is seeking) retain $1,000,000,000 in purchasing power to finance small business startups and to borrow new monies for business opportunities. This would jumpstart the real economy, making it appealing for the banks to jump in with another $1,000,000,000. Just consider the grass roots economic expansion that would occur. Just think of how incomes would improve for everyone.

But under those economically democratic circumstances the relative position of the Goldman Sachsers might be diminished because the demonstration effect of this strategy might lead to further positive effects. Green Party Stein and her vice-presidential running mate Ajamu Baraka (and former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders) - reminding us of the bailout of the banks, whose profiteering was a major factor in the economic collapse that led to large numbers of foreclosures, adding to the worsening epidemic of homelessness in America - have called for the forgiveness of student debt. The bankers and their allies in the Democratic and Republican Parties may suggest that the U.S. cannot afford to "bail out" our students.

Yes we can!