Elizabeth Warren’s student loan forgiveness plan may be a hard sell for a very specific population: financially responsible Americans.
Ms. Warren was recently confronted on the campaign trail by an angry father who said the Massachusetts Democrat’s policy rewards irresponsible behavior and penalizes upstanding citizens.
“My daughter is in school. I saved all my money just to pay student loans,” the man said during a Jan. 12 event in Iowa. “Can I have my money back?”
“Of course not,” Ms. Warren replied, The Blaze reported.
Footage shared Tuesday by Twitter user “JiveBunny” was viewed over 600,000 times.
“You’re going to pay for people who didn’t save any money — and those of us that did the right thing get screwed?” the dad continued.
The presidential hopeful smiled and nodded as the man explained his efforts to save money over many years.
“My buddy had fun, bought a car, went on vacation. I saved my money,” he said. “He made more than I did. I worked a double shift working to get extra money. You’re laughing at me. That’s exactly what you’re doing. We did the right thing, and we get screwed.”
Ms. Warren denied laughing at the man, who then walked off in frustration.
The candidate has vowed to tackled student loan debt on “Day One” of her administration if elected president.
Her official website asserts the following:
- “I’ll direct the Secretary of Education to use their authority to begin to compromise and modify federal student loans consistent with my plan to cancel up to $50,000 in debt for 95% of student loan borrowers (about 42 million people).
- “I’ll also direct the Secretary of Education to use every existing authority available to rein in the for-profit college industry, crack down on predatory student lending, and combat the racial disparities in our higher education system.”
The Democrat’s plan would affect roughly 44 million who collectively owe more than $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, Forbes noted in June 2019.
“The student debt crisis is real and it’s crushing millions of people — especially people of color,” Ms. Warren said at the time. “It’s time to decide: Are we going to be a country that only helps the rich and powerful get richer and more powerful, or are we going to be a country that invests in its future?”
A Father confronts @SenWarren
— JiveBunny (@JiveBunnyMuzik) January 21, 2020
Father : My daughter is in school, I saved all my money just to pay student loans Can I have my money back?
Warren: of course not
Father: so you want to help those who don’t save any money and the ones that do the right thing get screwed? pic.twitter.com/EY8M57tj9F
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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