The Costs of Regret

I recently wrote about the authoritarian like vote percentages for Democrats at two college campuses in the midterm elections.

Arizona State    96% for Democrat Katie Hobbs

University of Michigan    94% for Democrat for Democrat 

How do you get results like this in places that are supposed to be beacons for diversity, debate and dissenting opinions?

I guess it is somewhat predictable for a bunch of 18-22 year old kids who really have not been exposed to the real world.

Unfortunately, once exposed to the echo chamber that colleges have become, where there is a repetitive mantra of progressive and liberal dogma, it is likely to shape one's views for a long, long time.

This is borne out in the exit polling data for the 2022 midterms.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/election/2022/exit-polls/national-results/house

It appears the longer one is exposed to the echo chamber of what is supposed to be "education" the more likely one will vote Democrat.

Is that a coincidence?

In my earlier post I also singled out the repetitive messaging of mainstream media and social media. Their propaganda efforts seem in large part to be responsible for the disconnect in the electorate between reality, common sense and the votes in the midterm elections.

Is it also a coincidence that the "most regretted college major" is Journalism?

Source: https://www.ziprecruiter.com/blog/regret-free-college-majors/

Is the leftist, progressive bent of the media connected to the fact that many in the journalism field feel trapped in a profession that they regret getting into?

As a result, are those views shaping their leftist bias?

If you look at the list above, it is also probably true that Sociology, Liberal Arts, Communications and Education majors lean decidedly to the left on the political spectrum.

On the other hand, here are the 10 college majors that are the most regret-free.

Source: https://www.ziprecruiter.com/blog/regret-free-college-majors/

College graduates with these college majors would generally be considered to be to the right of those on the prior list.

It is also undoubtedly true that those who most regret their college majors are also likely to be the most vocal and politically driven in their belief that their student debt should be forgiven. 

Therefore, it follows that Joe Biden would tell young voters that he was forgiving up to $20,000 of their student debt though an executive order that was clearly a political ploy to drum up enthusiasm before the midterms.

Of course, that student loan debt forgiveness plan has now been declared invalid by a federal court.

Is it also a coincidence that the ruling came out just days after the midterm elections?

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/11/10/1135940851/student-debt-relief-biden-blocked-texas-district-court

 

President Biden's plan to erase federal student loan debts for tens of millions of borrowers hit a legal wall Thursday, when a U.S. District Court judge in Texas called it unlawful and vacated the debt relief program.

The federal government quickly appealed the decision, which came just weeks before student loan payments are set to resume in January. The program was already on hold while a federal appeals court in St. Louis considers a separate lawsuit by six states challenging it.

I expect we will not have a final decision on this issue until the Supreme Court rules.

That is not likely to happen soon and the current pause of student loan debt payment (which has now been in place for almost three years) is scheduled to expire in January.

That means money may soon have to be paid on those loans by those disgruntled Journalism and Sociology majors.

In the meantime, the entire legal foundation for the student loan pause and Biden's debt cancellation plan, is based on the fact that we are in a public health emergency due to Covid.

However, this week the Senate voted to end the Covid emergency on a 62-36 vote 

Interestingly, 12 Democrats voted with 50 Republicans to end the emergency.

Source: https://seekingalpha.com/news/3908703-senate-votes-to-end-covid-19-emergency-but-biden-threatens-to-veto-any-effort

The vote will probably be symbolic as it is doubtful that a 2/3 vote in both the Senate and House could be achieved to override Biden's veto. However, it shows how important that emergency declaration continues to be for student debt cancellation and other issues such as free Covid tests and vaccines.

The Senate vote also shows that it is getting harder for Democrats to defend the Covid emergency declaration. That is especially true for the 23 Democrats seeking reelection in 2024.

Of course, the major reason that Biden used the executive order route to attempt to cancel student debt remains.

He clearly did not think he could get it through Congress although Democrats controlled both houses of Congress.

It looks like it will be even more difficult in 2023 if the executive order is struck down by the courts.

It all means an even more depressing and regretful life for those Journalism majors in 2023.

Any hope for a nice vacation, a new smartphone or some drugs and alcohol to dim the regret from their choice of major and profession is narrowing.

A recent survey of student loan borrowers who planned to ask for the loan cancellation were asked how they would spend the money they saved by not paying off the debt.

73% of the student borrowers said they were likely to spend their extra money on non-essentials, including vacations, smartphone, drugs/alcohol.

This is a summary of the top spending categories from the survey as summarized by The Washington Examiner.

Source: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/washington-secrets/students-plan-vacation-binge-with-biden-bailout-dough

Your tax dollars at work.

You work.

Journalists and other leftists push an agenda and want your tax dollars to fund their life.

Could it all have been avoided by simply selecting a better college major?