Six Democrats have sided with banks, against the Landmark Student
Lending Reform. Who are they? Bill Nelson (Fl.), Tom Carper (Del.),
Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Jim Webb (Va.), Mark Warner (Va.) and Ben Nelson
(Neb.).
The student lending industry has launched an "aggressive
lobbying campaign" of senators representing states where big lenders are
based, scaremongering about job losses resulting from passing SAFRA.
Now, it appears that their lobbying is paying off.
We're a long way away
from when Thomas Jefferson started the University of Virginia with the
notion that part of building a middle class (necessary to a democracy,
he said) would require people with some education, and advocated a
national program of free education up to and including university
levels.
The last state to fall from that ideal was when Governor Ronald
Reagan ended free enrollment in the University of California system. My
question - how do these people sleep at night or look themselves in the
mirror?
Thom Hartmann is a Project Censored Award-winning New York Times best-selling author, and host of a nationally syndicated daily progressive talk program on the Air America Radio Network, live noon-3 PM ET. www.thomhartmann.com His most recent books are "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight," "Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights," "We The People," "What Would Jefferson Do?," "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle (more...)