In the wake of President Joe Biden unveiling his new policy on student loan debt relief, there’s been plenty of policy responses, ranging from glowing praise to condemnations. While the White House’s policy will benefit millions, not all of the criticisms should be dismissed out of hand, and not all of the disapproval is coming from the Democrat’s opponents on the right.
That said, some critics really haven’t thought through their talking points. Take Republican Rep. Jim Banks, for example, who published this message yesterday:
“Student loan forgiveness undermines one of our military’s greatest recruitment tools at a time of dangerously low enlistments.”
Once in a while, I’m surprised by what prominent Republicans are willing to put in writing. This is one of those times.
To be sure, concerns about military enlistments are legitimate. Politico recently published a report on the issue, noting that there’s bipartisan pressure on the Pentagon to address “what is widely considered the worst recruiting environment since the end of the Vietnam War.”
But for the Indiana congressman to connect student loan forgiveness to enlistments is deeply problematic.
In practical terms, Banks effectively seemed to argue that leaving millions of young adults under a mountain of debt would be a good thing, since they may turn to the military in desperation. I suspect the GOP lawmaker — who currently chairs the House Republican Study Committee and is himself a military veteran — intended to argue that young adults enlist in order to get money for college. But that’s not a great argument, either. For one thing, many Americans sign up because of a sense of patriotism and an eagerness to serve, not because they’re poor, short on options, and in need of tuition subsidies. For another, this need not be an either/or situation. As VoteVets put it, “The GI Bill has been a tremendous asset to our Veterans. But the military isn’t for everyone. And it is simply wrong to keep college debt so suffocating for everyone, just to entice kids to join the service. We can help people and still recruit the best.”
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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