Letter: How are school loans, COVID related?

The recent launch of the student loan forgiveness website caused me to take a closer look at the criteria to qualify for the $10,000 or $20,000 level of forgiveness. Either requires the applicant to have earned in either 2020 or 2021 (adjusted gross income) less than $125,000 if single or $250,000 if married. In other words, if an applicant who is single earned $124,000 in 2020 and $175,000 in 2021, he or she would still qualify. There is no need to provide any type of hardship argument.

Clearly, a single taxpayer earning $175,000 per year is not in a hardship situation that would require the federal government to abate any of that person's loan obligation, yet the rules allow this to occur. The executive order that Biden used to develop this program is apparently provided under the COVID emergency powers he has been granted. What I don't understand is how loan forgiveness to relatively well compensated individuals has anything to do with COVID relief? That has never been explained as far as I can tell.

What is really happening here is that $500 BILLION of debt forgiveness is being handed out without any apparent purpose except one. If the recipients average $15,000 of loan relief each, that would mean that approximately 33 million younger American voters will benefit. That's a very nice inducement to vote for the party that loves to give away free "stuff."

We've been played. Biden is using taxpayer dollars to influence voting patterns and it is obvious. How does this happen? When will we wake up and do something about these blatant political maneuvers? And by the way, Pritzker handing out "free" income and property tax rebates is just another time honored tradition of using taxpayer funds to influence voters.

Please make wise choices when you vote. Always voting with your pocket book isn't always in your long term best interests.

Bruce Brown

Inverness