My past-due parking tickets were a major reason I lost favorability with voters last year when I ran for mayor in Buffalo, New York. There was much talk in mainstream media about the amount of debt Stacy Abrams had when she ran for governor in Georgia in 2018. These are examples that I share because most working poor people don’t withhold payments for their debts. We face the difficult decision of whether to pay illegitimate debts, such as student loans and parking tickets, or feed our children and pay for life-saving medical treatment for our family members.
New York State’s recently passed $220 billion budget has me thinking about the broad acceptance of the idea that the wealthy are best equipped to make the decisions that are supposed to benefit the public at large. The state decided it was a smart decision to give $650m to the Buffalo Bills’ billionaire owners, while turning a blind o the crumbling infrastructure, lack decent housing, and failing education system in cities such as Buffalo. We now have reached a stage in capitalism where corporations-dominated governments are more inclined to invest public money into entertainment than the public good.
Last month, I attended a “debtors assembly” in Washington, D.C., hosted by The Debt Collective. It was the first time I publicly acknowledged how much student debt I carry — along with millions of other people. I am not alone, and I don’t have any reason to be ashamed. It was liberating and it got me thinking: What would the municipal, state and federal budgets look at if elected people who had to choose between student loan payments and medication? If they were not subject to the shame and stigma of student, medical, and consumer debt, what kind of talented and compassionate people could run for office?
As we approach the 2022 midterm elections voters are questioning whether a Democratic majority in Congress failed to deliver voting rights and the Build Back Better bill. They also want to cancel student debt. The single most straightforward thing President Biden could do to save the Democratic majority and stimulate the economy this midterm is to cancel student loans. Our country has approximately 45 million students who owe $1.7 billion in student debt, which is in stark contrast to other industrialized countries that offer free or cheap higher education.
Now, we face the critical challenge of changing the narrative on who carries the debt burden, who is entitled to personal agency and who has the right to make decisions. As a RootsAction member, I am thrilled to continue my vital coalition work. (For more information, visit our website. #withoutstudentdebtCampaign, visit withoutstudentdebt.us.)
While the hardships that are imposed on workers have become more severe and inhumane in recent decades, vast wealth has been funneled into pockets of a select few. As crucial steps to reduce income inequality, we need to reject “debt shaming” and insist on cancelation of student debt.
