How easy was it to become the youngest congresswoman in history? Achieving electoral success was actually less difficult than paying off college loans, according to first-term Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
The Democratic socialist made that claim Monday while endorsing the student loan forgiveness plan rolled out by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The plan calls for the cancellation — by taxing Wall Street — of a mammoth $1.6 trillion in national student loan debt.
“I will disclose my personal stake in this fight because I have student loans too. And I think it’s so funny that a year ago, I was waiting tables at a restaurant and it was literally easier for me to become the youngest woman in American history elected to Congress than it is to pay off my student loan debt,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Hyperbolic claim
While she hasn’t yet endorsed any Democrat for president, Ocasio-Cortez has praised the 77-year old progressive patriarch more often than most other candidates. The 29-year old lawmaker has flanked Sanders at numerous public events, a sign of approval for the democratic socialist who started the movement she now leads, and she has endorsed expensive socialist programs originally championed by Sanders, such as Medicare for All.
Flanked by Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. lhan Omar (D-MN) and other far-left lawmakers, Sanders revealed his latest costly policy, a more than trillion-dollar student loan forgiveness plan, on Monday. The “College for All” act seeks the cancellation of all student loan debt by taxing Wall Street.
“This proposal will make it possible for every person in America to get a college education no matter what their financial situation,” Sanders said. “We will make a full and complete education a fundamental right.”
The unofficial spokeswoman of a generation that has warmed to socialism., Ocasio-Cortez styles herself a champion for the working class and young people who are struggling to adapt to precarious economic circumstances. The Democrat spoke approvingly of Sanders’ plan and said that she personally identifies with it — but not without making a characteristically exaggerated claim.
“So that should tell you everything about the state of this economy and the state of quality of life for working people,” she said, comparing her electoral rise with paying off college debt. The former bartender, who now earns a salary of $170,000, said that becoming an elected official was the only way she was able to pay off her debt.
She continued, “In order for me to get a chance to have health care, in order for me to get a chance to pay off my student loans, I had to do something that was nearly impossible and I don’t think that is the bar through which a person should be able to access education, health care, and a bevy of other things that should be considered human rights.”
Ripe for critcism
Like her claim that president Trump is building “concentration camps,” her claim about the impossibility of paying off loans should probably be taken with a sizable grain of salt, too. Many Americans struggle with student loan debt, but many pay their debts off without being elected to the national legislature. And while remarkable, Ocasio-Cortez’s rise was not a political miracle. Her campaign was carefully engineered by influential progressive groups like Justice Democrats.
While styling herself a champion of the working class, Ocasio-Cortez has been criticized for adapting a little too comfortably to the more upscale lifestyle of the champagne socialist. The Democrat was blasted recently when she demanded a raise to her $170,000 salary, as she seemed to suggest that she would be forced to cut corrupt deals otherwise.
While most Republicans bristle at costly student loan cancellation programs as a form of handouts, some conservatives like Tucker Carlson have devoted significant attention to the burden that student loans impose on young Americans as they seek to build careers, buy homes, and start families. After mortage debt, student loans are the largest category of personal debt, more than car payments or credit card debt.
But $1.6 trillion is a heavy bill for taxpayers to foot. While Ocasio-Cortez may have had a point, some conservatives responded with an easy dig at her lack of political know-how.
“This is a solid case for you not being in Congress, not a solid case for relieving student loan debt,” Ben Shapiro tweeted.
At any rate, if Ocasio-Cortez wants to make it easier for Americans to afford college and health care, she can start by backing President Trump’s immigration plan. Paying for her ambitious socialist programs would be significantly easier without the economic drain on wages and the tax base by the millions of immigrants living in the country illegally.
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