Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota congresswoman, and American politician, recently took to her Twitter handle to canvass for the end of student loan debt.
Omar reportedly wants to end all $1.6 trillion of public and private student debt and suggest it is paid for instead with tax from Wall Street transactions.
The Minnesota congresswoman via a tweet from her official handle asked her followers, “What dreams would you be free to go after if your student loan debt was canceled? Share with the hashtag #CancelStudentDebt!”
This tweet got many people reacting as several users threw different suggestions at the Minnesota congresswoman.
@amourstephie replied her tweeting; Buy a house, help my parents, save for retirement, get my wisdom teeth taken out (lol!) #CancelStudentDebt
David, Fiery Resister @flowingfire noted, “Without student debt, I may be able to someday own a home, be independent, finish my education, and more. I’d be able to thrive better as an American, and not be chained to something overbearing that clips all our wings. We’re enslaved and indentured, each of us, to our debt.
User Mattew Kolken showered the congresswoman with praises stating, “Thank you @Ilhan, for encouraging Americans to share their #studentdebtstory. We can break the stigma associated with the #studentdebt by speaking out!
While some Twitter users were supportive of the idea of debt cancellation chaired by the Minnesota congresswoman, many other users were against the plan as Kendall Fulk @FulkKendall replied I paid mine, you pay yours!
https://twitter.com/FulkKendall/status/1222252904435933184
John Betts @JohnFromCranber said, “If everything were free the way you want it to be, no one would be able to pursue their dreams because we’d all be living in the kind of bankrupt nightmare world that the Venezuelans are living in.
Herbsuperb @herbsuperb2 replied saying; “What a crock, lady! You could just as quickly say, “imagine all the cool **** you could buy for yourself if your student debt were canceled”. It all amounts to the same thing. Stealing from responsible people, to pay off the debts of people who made terrible decisions.
Replying them Michael Gold, Psy.D. @drmichaelgold said; “Just shaking my head at the people opposing #CancelStudentDebt How messed up do you have to be, how selfish, resentful, vindictive, mean and spiritually ugly do you need to be, that you want other people to live in debt and struggle! You want them to struggle! Hideous.
Opponents of student loan debt cancellation
Notably, a significant number of twitter users who replied Ilhan Omar tweet were against the dissolution of the student loan debt.
These users were in two different groups. First, debtors who were once in debt but already repaid their student loan debt and don’t want to pay for student loan debt of other borrowers.
Second, taxpayers who view student loan debt cancellation as an enormous wealth transfer from taxpayers to borrowers who haven’t paid off their student loans.
Notably, a group of other users believes cancellation of student loan doesn’t solve the bigger problem, which is the cost of college and graduate school.
While many opponents of the Minnesota congresswoman idea say that the debt burden effectively transfers from current student loan borrowers to federal taxpayers.
Minnesota congresswoman to continue the push for debt cancellation
The Minnesota congresswoman in an interview has noted she would continue her fight for the cancellation of student loan debts.
Omar said:
As someone who’s part of the debt generation, I wanted to make sure that we were creating a proposal that would alleviate the kind of stress that people are dealing with.
She explained, under the plan, someone with a medical degree would get bailed out just like someone with an arts degree, despite the vast difference in estimated lifetime earning potential.
Notably, Ilhan Omar is being supported by fellow Rep Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, and Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont seeking the Democratic nomination for president.
