President Trump: The NEW one and only politics thread

Happy Year of the Pig.

Too on the nose?

 

The evidence at this point is clear: Tuition in American colleges went way up when the federal government expanded the loan amount it'd back for almost anyone asking for it. (You don't have to read the below, I wouldn't, it's long and boring, just that it's evidence of the research done.)

https://www.nber.org/papers/w21967.pdf

https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/staff_reports/sr733.pdf

In other words, by increasing the number of people who can afford college in the moment - student loan debt tells us they can't really afford to pay all the loans after the fact- it shoots up the cost of schooling. It's also tempted many schools - sometimes state institutions - to market their schools based on constructing upscale dorms and fashioning "campus life" experiences that extracurricular to the academic load.

If the government pulled out of backing loans - or even severely limited the amount it would back - colleges would have no choice but to reduce their costs in order to make schooling more affordable.

On the "merit," issue...college has long been merit-based. Really good students almost always get scholarships - good ones - that they have to work to keep. Colleges have never particularly struggled to find and reward the best, and they'll compete vigorously for such students. That hasn't changed.

The students who get squished and leveraged in the process are the "mid-level" B/C types that are paying out the nose to get degrees to go into jobs that probably don't require the degree they're paying for.

Now...onto the "free or nearly free college" idea.

I think natural logic says there's reason to be leery. It's not a utopia, so anything that's free or nearly free comes with some wrinkles, and one of them could be "well, if everyone's coming, how do we best educate everyone?" That's a natural question, right? In socialized medicine - which I support - there's a natural "what's best for most" conversation vs., in America, there's a medical plaza every nine feet in the suburbs.

 

Looking forward to the product placements during SOTU.

"My fellow Americans (takes a Big Gulp out from behind the podium and drinks from it) the State of the Union is strong, like All-State Insurance. My words ring out like a bell for freedom, speaking of which, Taco Bell is a fine company. It has the best taco bowls outside of Trump Tower."

 

Melania bringing a kid who was bullied for having the last name Trump as her SOTU "Be Best" guest is the fucking platonic ideal of Trumpism.

 

Transparency!

The plan to keep Trump’s taxes hidden

 

Coochie Coochie.

 

This may be counter intuitive but I find myself agreeing.

Increase the number of house members 8-10 fold, making representation closer to what it was when the Consititition was ratified.

Thirty-Thousand.org - Section I: The Promise: A Representative House

 

I sympathize with little Trump and Little Alan Hitler, Danny Stalin, Al Kada and Little Steve Bannin. All terrible ordeals, children and presidents can be so cruel.

 

Bill Mitchell is a crackpot grifter and he sucks, but this was too good to pass up:

 

I do renounce him.

 

Trump's early trips to Florida club cost taxpayers nearly $14 million, watchdog finds