Sallie Mae Takes A Body Blow!

Sorry for the Winship-like exclamation point in my title, but this is really good news, I’d think most of you would agree (even Duane Roberts.)   This morning President Obama fulfilled one of his more progressive campaign promises, and signed a sweeping student loan reform bill that cuts profiteering banks out of the gravy train they’ve had for so long as middlemen, gouging students with exorbitant fees and interest.

The special interests were fighting hard against this, with the usual technique of preparing and pushing a phony compromise bill, and last I had heard they had not only all the Republicans on board, but six usual-suspect “conservative” Democrats from big-lender states.  But thanks to pressure from us progressives and netroots, the strong bill passed and was signed today, and as Firedoglake enumerates:

  • Low-income students will have better access to education through increases in Pell grants.
  • More students able to afford college means more money for schools, which keeps costs down and improves the quality of our institutions.
  • Students will now borrow directly from the government, cutting Wall Street out of the picture and avoiding lifetimes of debt from fees and interest rates that banks use to milk students dry.

Here’s Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden explaining it all for you:

Onward to more glorious progressive victories!  Next up, financial reform, immigration reform, and jobs jobs jobs!  Republicans join in or get out of the way!


About Vern Nelson

Greatest pianist/composer in Orange County, and official political troubadour of Anaheim and most other OC towns. Regularly makes solo performances, sometimes with his savage-jazz band The Vern Nelson Problem. Reach at vernpnelson@gmail.com, or 714-235-VERN.