Call it dueling election gambits: President Joe Biden promising to cancel college student debt, while his opponent, Donald Trump, wants to eliminate taxes on tips. The irony is rich: the tip earners, many of whom didn’t go to college and earn lower wages, will have to pay for those who did.
The vote-getting ploys are based on electoral demographics: Biden is looking to curry favor with the college-educated, while Trump wants to portray himself as a champion of the working class.
Biden has been at it for a while. His previous attempt to cancel student loans was struck down by the Supreme Court, which said he doesn’t have the authority to write off what’s been estimated at $153 billion in college loans. Looking more to capitalize on the attempt than to actually provide the relief, Biden pledged to keep trying, all the while painting opponents of his move as foes of the educational system.
These would include what Hilary Clinton described as “deplorables,” taxpayers who eschewed college, such as those in the trades, service workers, and the waiters and waitresses now being asked to foot the bill for the education of others.
Historically, college loans were a private affair between lenders and the student. That is until 2003 when the federal government took over educational lending. Since then, more than 43 million students have put themselves on the hook for $1.77 trillion in loans, with Biden looking to waive the debt on 4.75 million borrowers.
Contrary to how Biden spins it, a debt will always be paid, according to the acclaimed economist Milton Friedman, either by the borrower (the student) or the lender (the American taxpayer). If he carries it off, Biden’s loan forgiveness plan will be part of a spending spree that will increase the national debt, currently at $34.8 trillion, by 27%, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
A post by $100,000-a-year staffer Ben Kamens with Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur bragging that he won’t have to pay off his loan went viral, with nearly every commentator castigating him for not paying it off himself.
“Ben Kamens took this loan out 14 years ago and still hasn't paid it off until we the taxpayers paid it off for him. Disgusting,” said Lisa Moore on X. “As a guy who never went to college but instead just went to work, pardon me if I don't offer you a high five,” said John Rich, also on X. “MY hard-earned tax dollars bailed your ass out.”
Gilda Maile supported the loan forgiveness program on Facebook: “President Joe Biden & VP Harris are doing exactly what 81 million of us elected them to do, and they are doing it beautifully,” she said.
Kaptur, a Democrat, had previously spoken out against the loan forgiveness effort, asking: “What about the people who paid off their loans?" What about the people who didn’t rack up that level of debt? What about people who put college on hold? What about the systemic problems we have in the student loan program, where you walk into an admissions office at a college, and they give you a credit card, and you get the money, and you can spend the money on a car or a vacation or whatever, and then the student doesn’t graduate. There’s a lot of issues."
Recognizing the struggle restaurants are having trying to stay afloat under Bidenomics and the overall pain caused by the record inflation since Biden took office, Trump went for the working class pocketbook issue. “We need to spread the word so that every time you leave a tip for the next five months, you put on the receipt, ‘Vote for Trump because there’s no tax on tips,’” the former president said. His plan would save low-middle-class workers upwards of $250 billion over 10 years.
A “Restaurant Apocalypse” is sweeping across America, with fewer people having the discretionary income to dine out. Young adults under 40 who used to love going to restaurants are feeling the sting of Biden’s economic policies, and it’s having an enormous impact on the industry. Over last year's holiday season, 40 bars and eateries closed in New York City alone, with visits to sit-down restaurants nationwide dropping by about 5% in 2023.
“Trump getting rid of the tax on our tips would be a great thing for the working class,” said Amy Weihauer of Selden, a waitress at the Country Cottage Diner in Center Moriches. “There is no reason to tax us on our service; we are already taxed on our wages. Enough is enough.”