A.G. Gancarski
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is offering one way to pay off crippling student loan debt.
Rubio, appearing on the Fox News Channel’s “One Nation with Brian Kilmeade,” expressed opposition to President Joe Biden‘s write-off of student loan debt, but not without explaining that he too dealt with those issues, until he found a side hustle from his day job while making ends meet as a newcomer to Washington, D.C.
Asked about the possibility of being a “successful politician” by telling people to “lift themselves up by their bootstraps,” the second-term South Florida Republican agreed that was indeed possible.
“Absolutely, I think that’s what most people want,” Rubio said, before outlining his own journey to solvency in the face of federal student loans.
“I owed over $100,000 in student loans. The day I got elected to the Senate, I had over $100,000 still in student loans that I was able to pay off because I wrote a book, and with that money, I was able to pay it. If not, I’d still be paying it, OK?”
As far back as 2016, Rubio was well into the seven figures in terms of aggregate book royalties, so authorship in the model of Florida’s Senior Senator is one way for debtors to tackle their obligations.
The attempt to model a strategy to pay off student loans is the latest in a series of Rubio commentaries on the matter.
In an op-ed for Fox Business, Rubio is contrasting the “stunning success” of the Paycheck Protection Program, his pandemic plan to advance money to businesses chafing under COVID-19 restrictions, to the “handout” proposed by the White House.
“Let’s start with the obvious: federal student loans were just that, loans. The whole idea was that students would take the loans to pay for an education that would lead to a job that repays them,” he wrote.
Rubio, facing a tough re-election challenge this year, seems to be pinning much of his message on the politically potent issue of student loan relief.
“Val Demings to Millions of Taxpayers: Screw You,” read a Thursday email from the Rubio camp, condemning Demings for supporting President Biden’s “student loan bailout.”
21 comments
Charlie Crist
August 27, 2022 at 8:44 pm
Get these gd GOP crooks the fck outta here man. This country can’t deal with this poop anymore. We need to start electing people who don’t just do things for the rich. Vote Blue is the only chance… otherwise it’s all over.
Impeach Biden
August 27, 2022 at 8:54 pm
Tell us how the Biden crime family became so wealthy?
James Madison
August 27, 2022 at 9:43 pm
First off, Biden releases his tax returns. He’s not all that rich. Second, if you were actually smart, you would know how to invest wisely. I make about what a senator makes and I’m a multi-millionaire from smart investing over a couple of decades. All you do is parrot the same old stuff. Lastly, I’d look into the Trump crime family. Why do you think he won’t release his tax returns that he’s promised to release for a decade now?
Charlie Crist
August 27, 2022 at 10:33 pm
@Impeach: Who cares so long as their gd party does something for people who aren’t rich. Id rather see a billionaire president who does something for ordinary people than one with or without money who only does for the rich….like TRUMP and the GOP. You stupid to cheerlead for them. They do nothing for you but pump head full of stupid right wing propaganda 🤡
Jimriff45
August 28, 2022 at 11:42 pm
Biden got some money after he was VP from book sales and fees for speeches, etc. For all of his time in the Senate he was accurately known as the “ poor man of the Senate”. Not a crime in sight, you’re thinking of Trust-Fund, Daddy was rich Trump!
Andrew Linko
August 27, 2022 at 11:13 pm
So 100 Senators who REPRESENT ALL Americans, 329.5 million, with 43 million having Student debt, are supposed to be happy you were elected by taking campaign contributions from those who don’t represent the majority of either of these groups, are to be proud tax dollars paid off your student loans? It is time for you to return home to Florida and let Val Deming’s represent us!
Andrew Linko
August 27, 2022 at 11:15 pm
Rubio what about Betsy DeVos who changed the loan programs making it impossible for any of those students to repay their debt? The 43 million, not the .0001 percent like yourself that accepted DeVos money!
Jerry
August 28, 2022 at 12:13 am
Here’s the question I would like a liberal to explain to me… why are kids (and their parents) taking out such massive loans in the first place? If the school you want to go to is charging $120,000, and you will need a loan for most of that….and you are uncertain of the job prospects at graduation…. I think it’s time to consider a different school, or a different degree.
Get a job while going to school. Live at home for an extra year or two if possible. Go to a school closer to home. Take some courses at a community college. Look for scholarships or look for companies that provide tuition assistance. Etc, etc, etc… There are many, many ways to keep a debt bill down while going to college. A massive student loan is not inevitable.
Bill
August 28, 2022 at 11:10 am
You think this is just a liberal issue? I would imagine there are plenty of conservatives jumping for joy at this. Yes, it’s an issue but politizing it just makes it less likely to be solved. I’m not happy with my taxes paying off someone else’s debt but I was equally unhappy with trump’s tax breaks for billionaires as well. Six of one, half dozen of the other IMO.
marylou
August 28, 2022 at 11:13 am
Here’s why: There were tuition free and low tuition public colleges until Reagan’s education advisor warned, “We are in danger of producing an educated proletariat. … That’s dynamite! We have to be selective on who we allow [to go to college].” Reagan suggested that California public colleges could charge residents tuition for the first time.
–The Intercept
Sound familiar: “I love the poorly educated”?
As far as “companies that provide tuition assistance” What an original Republican plan: Force them into indentured servitude. Company stores…why not!?
Happy to hear about how you, yourself, managed to do all the things that you are suggesting for others. Maybe you can get some book-writing tips from Marco.
Brett James
August 28, 2022 at 2:01 pm
You are a whiny bitch snowflake ❄ cry about it
Andrew Linko
August 28, 2022 at 12:59 am
President Biden made a promise to reverse the evil policies of the former 45 appointed, NON-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. He fulfilled that promise. She changed student loan debt, privatized it, which many debtors in ‘good faith’ would have never been able to pay off! https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/19/politics/student-loan-relief-devos-trump-biden/index.html
marylou
August 28, 2022 at 11:39 am
Good link, Thank you!
Andrew Linko
August 28, 2022 at 1:02 am
The 45 appointed Education Secretary, that had NO college education, no teaching experience, no teaching administration experience, donated $280k to the Florida Governor in hopes of being back in her former position destroying public education and those in debt by privatizing the borrowers costing more! When you know the facts it easier to stop ideologies and see the facts screw republicans, democrats, conservatives, liberals, yeas, AMERICANS!
Ocean Joe
August 28, 2022 at 10:11 am
Rubio was on Jim Defede’s program on CBS4 this morning for a half hour, speed-talking like a cornered rat. Don’t understand how a 12 year veteran of the senate, a former presidential candidate who roughed up Donald on the debate stage gets so tongue tied.
Maybe the willingness to go with the anti-abortion, no exception crowd is taking a toll.
Tjb
August 28, 2022 at 1:45 pm
Why aren’t we talking about how Rubio wants to dismantle Social Security and Medicare? Does he want to create a huge class of homeless retirees living on insufficient fixed incomes.
Perhaps I can write a book on this issue and with the money I make on it, I will not become homeless.
marylou
August 28, 2022 at 6:44 pm
Marco’s trying to distract from his plan to steal retiree’s Social Security and Medicare. His corporate owners are demanding cheap, desperate workers!
marylou
August 28, 2022 at 6:49 pm
“Interesting how Rubio forgets to mention using $20,000 from his political committee to hire a ghost writer for his memoir, which was potentially an ethics violation.” —–Anna V. Eskamani said on Twitter:
TrumpU Grad
August 29, 2022 at 4:43 pm
Can you really pull yourself up by your bootstraps?
To pull yourself up by your bootstraps is actually physically impossible. In fact, the original meaning of the phrase was more along the lines of “to try to do something completely absurd.”
Andrew Linko
August 29, 2022 at 10:01 pm
student loans are easy to deal with … says Marco Rubio.
He bragged that he erased 100K of personal debt without help. You could too if you work hard like him…
Yup. This past weekend, L’il Marco Rubio told you if you could just write a book like he did (Anyone has time for that! We all get Fridays off like Senators, work half the year and get free tv time to promote our books!), you’d get out of debt! Easy-peasy, right!?
“I owed over $100,000 in student loans, the day I got elected to the Senate I had over $100,000 still in student loans that I was able to pay off because I wrote a book and from that money I was able to pay it.”
If this sounds like an insult, it is. Marco took advantage of his government position and high profile for profit. So the rest of us who can’t do that…are just lazy and willing to be in debt? Yep, in the world according to L’il Marco.
It gets worse, though. You see, Marco had the Florida Republican Party credit card handy to abuse. You have that too, right?? Take it away, Tampa Bay Times:
“..The Times Herald obtained Rubio’s statements from 2006 and 2007, showing he routinely charged personal expenses from a $10.50 movie ticket to a four-day, $10,000 family reunion.
Tjb
September 1, 2022 at 9:43 am
Teachers, nurses, doctors, and other individuals with student debt who are contributing to a better society are benefiting from this action along with millions of Floridians.
I paid my way for college and I paid for my children’s college education. I am happy for those who are benefiting from this loan forgiveness program.
Why isn’t Rubio standing up and supporting a program that helps Floridians
Comments are closed.