A poll from Rasmussen Reports released today purports to show that Americans are strongly against the historic student loan reforms signed into law by President Obama this week. However, when reading the questions Rasmussen asked, it is clear that the firm is playing an April Fools’ gag.
What’s up next for Rasmussen? Gauging Americans’ job approval of the Tooth Fairy?
APRIL FOOLS: “49% think new student loan plan is a bad idea, 35% like it.”(Rasmussen headline)
When presented information on what the student loan reforms signed into law actually do, Americans strongly support it. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act invests billions of dollars in students and families, at no costs to taxpayers. Not surprisingly, critics are using scare tactics to try to mislead the American public about this effort. They’re desperate to preserve the status quo – a system that for too long has favored banks at the expense of students and taxpayers.
APRIL FOOLS: “Under a newly approved law, students will borrow money directly from the federal government rather than through a private bank.” (Rasmussen poll question #3)
It’s ridiculous to argue this is a government takeover, when the federal student loan programs are already a federal program, established and subsidized by the federal government. The Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) is broken and now depends on taxpayer dollars not just for subsidies that reimburse lenders when borrowers default on loans, but also for the capital to finance their lending activity altogether.
Taxpayers now fund 8.8 of every 10 dollars in federal student lending activity. They absorb all the risk. There is simply no reason to keep pumping taxpayer dollars into a broken system when the federal government can provide the same low-cost federal loans more reliably for students and at a lower cost for taxpayers.
APRIL FOOLS: “The government says it will save billions by cutting private banks out of the student loan process. How likely is it that the government involvement will save billions of dollars?”(Rasmussen poll question #4)
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, but cutting out subsidies to big banks and switching to the cheaper Direct Loan program, the student loan reforms save taxpayers $61 billion over the 10 years. In addition to investing in college aid, these provisions will also reduce the deficit by at least $10 billion over 10 years.
What’s up next for Rasmussen? Gauging Americans’ job approval of the Tooth Fairy?
APRIL FOOLS: “49% think new student loan plan is a bad idea, 35% like it.”(Rasmussen headline)
When presented information on what the student loan reforms signed into law actually do, Americans strongly support it. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act invests billions of dollars in students and families, at no costs to taxpayers. Not surprisingly, critics are using scare tactics to try to mislead the American public about this effort. They’re desperate to preserve the status quo – a system that for too long has favored banks at the expense of students and taxpayers.
APRIL FOOLS: “Under a newly approved law, students will borrow money directly from the federal government rather than through a private bank.” (Rasmussen poll question #3)
It’s ridiculous to argue this is a government takeover, when the federal student loan programs are already a federal program, established and subsidized by the federal government. The Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) is broken and now depends on taxpayer dollars not just for subsidies that reimburse lenders when borrowers default on loans, but also for the capital to finance their lending activity altogether.
Taxpayers now fund 8.8 of every 10 dollars in federal student lending activity. They absorb all the risk. There is simply no reason to keep pumping taxpayer dollars into a broken system when the federal government can provide the same low-cost federal loans more reliably for students and at a lower cost for taxpayers.
APRIL FOOLS: “The government says it will save billions by cutting private banks out of the student loan process. How likely is it that the government involvement will save billions of dollars?”(Rasmussen poll question #4)
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, but cutting out subsidies to big banks and switching to the cheaper Direct Loan program, the student loan reforms save taxpayers $61 billion over the 10 years. In addition to investing in college aid, these provisions will also reduce the deficit by at least $10 billion over 10 years.
