GOP Lawmaker Fears Reducing Student Debt Will Keep Poor Kids From Joining Military
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A Republican member of Congress fears Joe Biden’s plan to cancel student loan debt for millions of Americans could have a devastating effect on the U.S. armed forces.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) lamented Thursday on Twitter that relieving crushing debt for low-income Americans paying off student loans could reduce the number of people who join the military to fund their higher education.
“Student loan forgiveness undermines one of our military’s greatest recruitment tools at a time of dangerously low enlistments,” he wrote.
Student loan forgiveness undermines one of our military’s greatest recruitment tools at a time of dangerously low enlistments.
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) August 25, 2022
Not surprisingly, Banks’ suggestion made a lot of people fighting mad.
"If we can't extort people of limited means to join the military, and risk their lives while we cut taxes for the rich, how will we fight wars?" Maybe have the rich go to the military to qualify for tax cuts? Huh? Or is it only the poor and working class who should be extorted? https://t.co/XPJGvFqNaT
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) August 25, 2022
"Student loan forgiveness is making it difficult to manipulate poor and desperate youth into a very real probability of getting them killed."
Fixed it for you. https://t.co/hmePgPgCsa— Heather Antos (@HeatherAntos) August 25, 2022
1. Keeping people impoverished to maintain a war machine is some villainous shit
2. Recruitment is low because of competition and 20 years of dumb wars
3. You're a Republican and a capitalist; if you want more Americans to enlist, PAY THEM MORE https://t.co/nfEnaR8wmR— Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) August 25, 2022
this is truly so fucking embarrassing lmao. GOOD. let's lower those enlistment rates, good lord. https://t.co/wzYJ6dc1Ap
— Alex Schlesinger (@alextalkscomics) August 25, 2022
Republicans believe lower-income folks should conscript themselves into the military to escape poverty https://t.co/rQkvQ4Gk9d
— Fiddler (@cFidd) August 25, 2022
As I note today, most of these GOP arguments start from the assumption that Republican voters want their own kids to move back into the house, be shipped overseas, or drain their parents' savings. Which....I doubt it! https://t.co/xjFxs2DvEnhttps://t.co/HVNeAPsCrD
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) August 25, 2022
Maybe enlistment is down because Republicans fist bump when they deny benefits to veterans. https://t.co/dHHlghkXvQ
— Kevin Hench (@KevinHench) August 25, 2022
You have to be something of a monster to think it.
To say it out loud, you have to be something of a fucking idiot. https://t.co/Gi42YUnzXm— Ari Cohn (@AriCohn) August 25, 2022
Did he mean to explicitly state that the military is indentured servitude for many? https://t.co/TJ0hQlGO8i
— Anshel Sag (@anshelsag) August 25, 2022
Whomst will we feed to the war god if we alleviate the suffering of millions? https://t.co/RKqTqvftTy
— Kim Boekbinder (@KimBoekbinder) August 25, 2022
One person lamented that Banks’ tweet could have a devastating impact on one particular demographic: satirists.
Jesus Christ, dude, we satirists can't compete with this. "Who will fill our military's graveyards if they can afford college instead?" https://t.co/abVjIq9K8v
— Fred Van Lente (@fredvanlente) August 25, 2022
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.