{"id":783947,"date":"2022-08-29T17:45:54","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T17:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radiofree.asia\/?guid=7e813f06709a0fa967db6e2cff27e3cc"},"modified":"2022-08-29T17:45:54","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T17:45:54","slug":"aoc-says-reversing-trump-tax-cuts-could-fund-cancelation-of-all-student-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/08\/29\/aoc-says-reversing-trump-tax-cuts-could-fund-cancelation-of-all-student-debt\/","title":{"rendered":"AOC Says Reversing Trump Tax Cuts Could Fund Cancelation of All Student Debt"},"content":{"rendered":"
In the wake of the White House\u2019s announcement that the Biden administration <\/span>is canceling up to $20,000<\/span><\/a> of student debt for borrowers, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) reminded followers over the weekend that Congress could fund a plan to cancel all student debt by simply undoing the <\/span>unpopular<\/span><\/a> and costly tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy that Republicans passed in 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n In <\/span>an Instagram post<\/span><\/a> on Saturday, Ocasio-Cortez encouraged followers to keep fighting for further student debt relief, pointing out that politicians often give huge subsidies to the 1 percent and corporate tax dodgers with little hesitation. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe can keep pushing. Remember that the Biden administration didn\u2019t want to do this *at all.* It was YOUR pushing, YOUR pressure, YOUR organizing that got them to this point,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThey have forgiven far, far more debt for business owners in the form of PPP who didn\u2019t need to meet ANY sort of income requirements or means testing for <\/span>almost $1 TRILLION in forgiveness<\/span><\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She added that the price tag for the 2017 Donald Trump-backed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was higher than the amount of student debt owed by all borrowers in the U.S., according to the Federal Reserve. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMind you, forgiving ALL student debt in the US <\/span>is about $1.7 trillion<\/span><\/a> \u2014 you could undo the 2017 tax cuts for the 1 percent and forgive all student loans plus have money left over to contribute to universal childcare, tuition free college, homelessness, etc.,\u201d the lawmaker said.<\/span><\/p>\n Indeed, the <\/span>statutory cost<\/span><\/a> of the Trump tax cuts was a towering $1.9 trillion, though that <\/span>figure ballooned<\/span><\/a> to well over $2 trillion after the cuts were passed. The massive tax reform bill slashed the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent while also giving <\/span>colossal tax breaks<\/span><\/a> to the ultra-wealthy, allowing them to avoid paying tens of billions of dollars in taxes.<\/span><\/p>\n Progressive lawmakers like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) <\/span>have tried<\/span><\/a> to restore the pre-Trump corporate tax rate \u2014 which <\/span>is already quite low<\/span><\/a> compared to historic U.S. corporate tax policies \u2014 but have faced resistance from conservative Democrats <\/span>like Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona)<\/span><\/a>, who have close ties to corporate and right-wing lobbyists.<\/span><\/p>\n