Although most Americans knew Donald Trump selected Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education to help re-write U.S. education policies following his guidelines including school vouchers for private and parochial schools, few had any idea of what re-vamping the U.S. Education policy might truly entail. This fulfills a promise Trump and republicans made to Evangelical Christians at the 2016 Road to the Majority conference in front of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. For the most part, however, the public was kept in the dark. But in the Trump administration's 2018 budget, that was recently leaked to the media, the president's plan would change education in ways the public could never imagine.
Especially changes related to getting a college education. The money saved from proposed cuts and the elimination of programs will help provide Trump and Republicans with hundreds of millions of dollars for new 'school-choice' initiatives across the country.
The Trump and Republican budget will put college out of reach for tens of thousands
Most Americans and college students remember when interest rates on student loans increased in 2013 after republicans eliminated the difference in rates between unsubsidized and subsidized loans? The 2018 budget goes far beyond that and proves emphatically that President Trump and republicans are the ones in the pockets of big banks. (D) Senator Elizabeth Warren tried to get republicans to let students borrow money at the same ridiculously low rate corporations borrow money from the government at, but she was ignored.
Two of the proposed cuts to programs include the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and work-study programs that allow students to work part-time on campuses and also greatly benefit single parents, would be drastically cut or eliminated altogether. And there is a strong indication that tax credits for students that let them recoup some of the interest rates paid on unsubsidized loans and a portion of other college costs will be axed with republican led tax reform later this year.
Changes to student loan programs would benefit banks and financial institutions
Students are not required to begin paying on subsidized loans until after graduation and can apply for reduced payments according to their income whereas students begin paying interest on unsubsidized loans as soon as they are processed. Subsidized loans, which are eliminated under the 2018 budget proposal, are critical for non-working students and help students with jobs keep from having to get unsubsidized loans.
The same goes for research dollars the government gives to colleges for graduate students working on a Ph.D. Republicans had already greatly reduced the amount of money they provide for research grants in the past six years. Students don't pay tuition, they work in research labs and receive a stipend from colleges from government grants which help them pay living expenses since there are no grants or student loans after students complete a four or six-year degree. College research has helped the U.S. make advances in medical, bio-med, and other areas of Science.
Student loan debt forgiveness to get eliminated
President Obama provided government funds for Student Loan Debt forgiveness for older Americans who had become disabled and unable to work or whose loans had gone into default.
Sallie Mae and other collection agencies working for the Department of Education refused to work with adults on lowering payments, knocking off collection charges and late fees, or allowing them to pay according to their income, making it impossible for adults over forty, and disabled adults to ever pay off their remaining student loans. Sallie Mae and lenders that took over student loan debt garnished wages at levels that didn't allow adults to support their families or even themselves. Republicans were primarily responsible for the problem after refusing to help democrats change banking policies to make them fair for consumers. It is more than likely that if not ended with a stroke of Trump's pen in an executive order, it will be eliminated in the 2018 budget. And like they always have DeVos, Trump, and Republican swear that they are doing all this to benefit taxpayers.
