GOP's deficit cutting hits students too hard, SJ Mercury, 1/2/2006

[Coastie for Truth]

Congressional Republicans made a self-satisfied gesture of fiscal constraint before heading home to hornswoggle voters into believing they're really worried about the federal deficit.

The $40 billion in spending cuts, spread over five years, was barely a pinprick -- about a third of 1 percent of the federal budget. This year's budget deficit alone is $319 billion. The spending cuts will soon be swamped by $56 billion in extended tax cuts that Congress is poised to pass early next year, along with $27 billion in additional tax write-offs for the wealthy that took effect Jan. 1.

In fact, $40 billion in cuts would be barely worth mentioning were it not so irresponsible. Bearing the brunt will be the federal college loan program, which Congress instead should be increasing in light of soaring higher education costs and the fact that American industry is clamoring for a better educated workforce.

Because of the cuts, students will be piling up several thousand dollars of additional debt and parents will be paying higher interest on loans -- up to 8.5 percent. Lenders will no longer be able to subsidize new loans from the money they make. And, despite promises to raise Pell Grants -- the foundation of federal student aid -- by $1,000 to keep up with rising costs, the grants will remain capped at $4,000. (The 650,000 students attending California's public colleges at least got some good news last week, with the announcement that Gov. Schwarzenegger's budget will rescind the increase in student fees -- $492 for UC schools, $204 for CSU campuses -- that were to go into effect next year.)

And the Bush assault on America continues.