Virginia Foxx is a Fucking Idiot.

"I went through school, I worked my way through... it took seven years.  I never borrowed a dime of money.  [My husband] borrowed a little money because we were both totally on our own when we went to college, totally.  But we put ourselves through school, he borrowed about $1,500, which we paid back over... um... a long period of time because it made sense to do that because that was the way the loan was set up.  But um... yeah, uh, I have very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate with $200,000 of debt or even $80,000 of debt, uh, because there's no reason for that... uh... we all again, we live in an opportunity society and people are forgetting that.  I remind folks all the time that the Declaration of Independence said 'Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness', you don't sit on your butt and have it dumped in your lap"

Where to begin?

First, Virginia Foxx attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she graduated in 1968.  Back then, the average tuition cost to attend law school was about $475.  Adjusted for 2011 dollars, that would be about $3,400.  In 2009, the average tuition cost for law school was about $36,000, or 10 times higher than the adjusted cost was in 1968.


Second, the cost of living relative to average wages was also much lower in 1968 than it is today.  In 1968, minimum wage was about $1 per hour, or $5 per hour in 2011 dollars.  The cost for an undergraduate college tuition was about $150.  So, a student could work a minimum wage, part-time job in 1968 and still make enough money to pay for tuition and living expenses.  This is simply not the case today.


Third, Mrs. Foxx's husband borrowed "about $1,500" in student loans, which would be close to $8,000 in 2011 dollars.  $8,000 today wouldn't even cover half a year at a public law school and would barely cover a year of undergraduate education at most public colleges.


Fourth, "opportunity society" means exactly that - OPPORTUNITY.  Student loans exist at all in order to provide the OPPORTUNITY for those who would otherwise be unable to afford the cost of attending college to do so.  This isn't a hand-out, it's a loan, that must be repaid.


Fifth, like a good conservative, Mrs. Foxx wants to reinterpret the founding documents to fit her own selfish narrative, but the right to the "pursuit of happiness" would, in fact, mean the right to be able to attend college in order to pursue ones personal happiness by earning a degree and getting a good job.


Sixth, Mrs. Foxx seems to believe that a student who gets a loan, works their ass off to maintain passing grades in school and then gets a job after graduation in order to pay off that loan debt, among other things, is sitting on their butt waiting to have things "dumped" in their lap.  Apparently going to school full-time and earning a degree is just sitting on your butt.  Working every day at a job to pay off tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt is sitting on your butt.


Virginia Foxx is completely out of touch and she's a fucking idiot.


What's more, this woman sits on the congressional committee for higher education.


It's no secret that Republicans want to make it harder for the average American to go to college.  They have disdain and contempt for those who must rely on student loans to attend college.  Republicans are still living in the 1960's fantasy world where one can work a part-time, minimum wage job and easily afford the cost of tuition and other expenses.  Back in 1968, a $1,500 loan and a part-time job flipping burgers could pay your way through UNC law school.  Today, those things couldn't even pay your way through your local community college.


Mrs. Foxx's comments show how out of touch conservatives are with the working class and her disdain for those who are struggling with massive debt in order to achieve the same education and opportunity that Mrs. Foxx seems to think is still just a trivial expense only proves how clueless she and her fellow Republicans are to the reality of being a middle-class American high school graduate or adult with ambitions of getting a degree and making something of themselves.


You see, no one is saying that anyone should be given something for nothing.


I need to repeat this because I know some dipshit conservative will read this and accuse me of being a socialist looking for free government handouts.


NO ONE IS SAYING THAT ANYONE SHOULD BE GIVEN SOMETHING FOR NOTHING.


I know that, in spite of me repeating that in bold type, I will still be accused of asking for government freebies, but whatever, some people are unreachable.


For everyone else with basic literacy and intelligence, however, the point of this whole discussion is not that anyone wants a free education, it's that students are being increasingly forced out of the university system due to skyrocketing tuition costs and a great many more are hopelessly mired in student loan debt and finding themselves underemployed in the current economy.


It's not enough just to work a part-time job and take out a couple thousand dollars in loans.  That will not cover the cost of a college education anymore.  Students who don't have the luxury of wealthy parents or the good fortune to earn full-ride scholarships must take on massive loan debt just to pay for an undergraduate degree at a public university.  I'm not even talking about graduate students earning advanced degrees, just an average, working-class high school grad who wants a bachelor's degree so they can get a decent job.


My wife graduated from college almost 15 years ago and she's still paying off her student loans.  Since then, the cost of tuition at her alma matter has gone up about 400%.  She had financial aid and a few thousand dollars in scholarships and still graduated with enough debt to keep her making payments for a decade and a half.  She didn't attend Stanford or Harvard, she went to UC Santa Cruz, a public university.  She didn't major in dead languages or art history either, she earned a degree in business, something that has a lot of usefulness in the job market.  She didn't sit on her ass waiting for anything to be dumped in her lap, she worked her ass off to graduate with a strong GPA.  Not only that, but she worked part time at her school's health center to help cover her expenses.  So, she did everything Mrs. Foxx claims is necessary to never have the burden of student loan debt - she worked hard, got a part-time job and had scholarships and she still ended up with enough student loan debt to last until she's almost ready to retire.


Mrs. Foxx's comments perfectly illustrate the lack of connect that Republican politicians have with the common working man that they so pretend to be looking out for.


This isn't 1968 anymore, Virgina, get your head out of your ass.