AOC the scofflaw and other thoughts

AOC the scofflaw and other thoughts

AOC the scofflaw

AOC seems to be in the news as much as Trump. Now she is freezing her eggs while the right wing press has looked at her financial disclosure form and reports that she is a student loan scofflaw. The reports are that she still has $50,000 in student debt unpaid. Here is an example headline “Ocasio-Cortez still owes up

to $50,000 in student loans after eight years earning $174,000 a year in

Congress.” This is fake news. Actually, the financial disclosure lists a range of $15,001 to $50,000 and the news reports are going with the highest number. In reality, she owes much less. In a congressional hearing in 2019, she made a student loan payment during the hearing. “I literally made a student loan payment while I was sitting here at this chair. I looked at my balance, and it is $20,237.16.” “I just made a payment that took me down to $19,000, so I feel really accomplished right now,” she said.

https://abcnews.com/GMA/News/rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-makes-student-loan-payment/story?id=65536255

So this is just laziness on the part of the reporters. But if AOC still has student debt despite being in the congress for 8 years while earning $174,000 she is obviously making a statement. What that statement is escapes me. Is she telling others to ignore their debt? Occasionally she co-sponsors bills with Bernie Sanders to forgive up to $50,000 in student debt but that can’t be the reason why she still carries a balance. What was more interesting to me is that she must be awful with her finances with savings of only $66,000 after all her high earning years. No one can accuse her of getting rich while in office. No Nancy Pelosi is she. And BTW, aren’t there actions that can be taken against her like garnishing her salary? Why hasn’t she heard from the collection agencies?

Where’s the beef?

A friend of mine pointed out that the president has just lifted the tariffs on 300,000 pounds of Argentine beef for 90 days. My friend wrote “I thought of you yesterday when I read that Trump was reducing the tariff on Argentinian beef so that he can delude himself into believing that it will actually help American farmers or ranchers and lower the price of beef. So, isn’t that a direct admission that tariffs raise prices for consumers?” The answer is of course it is and thank you for the note. Trump’s border taxes are arbitrary, capricious and vindictive (see Canada). Beef growers will have a beef. Cattle ranchers and republicans from farm states were quick to condemn the decision. “You don’t put America first by putting U.S. cattle producers last,” said Justin Tupper, president of the United States Cattlemen’s Association. Trump said that the imports will be sold at 25 percent below market prices. Trump is now dictating prices? Sounds like Mamdani and his grocery store prices doesn’t it? That should make the ranchers real happy. Trump’s policies may cost the republicans the governorship, two congressional seats and a Senate seat in Iowa. Other farm states may be in play as well. Also note that the period is 90 days. I am sure that it is a mere coincidence that the 90 days will expire after the midterms. Naturally, he blamed Joe Biden: “What we are facing in America today is the direct result of a war on cattle by the previous administration.” Man up! It’s all on you now.

On board the deportation express

Did you see where the first of 20 of the1,200 illegals were deported to Liberia and five refused to get off the plane? So they were flown to Equatorial Guinea instead? The administration has agreements with 35 countries to take the illegals. Third-country deportees have, in most cases, obtained legal protection

against repatriation after U.S. immigration judges ruled they risked torture or

other abuses in their home countries. The five may regret their decision since they and 30 other deportees are being housed in a hotel under inhumane conditions. I was wondering what will the deportees do? Will they remain in the country where they were deported? Are they free to leave (and could sneak back into this country? Will they even go back to their home country? 

And how much is all of this costing? Reports are that the US has paid a staggering $32 million to five countries to accept 300 deportees. The Guardian reports that “the administration paid Rwanda $7.5m plus an estimated $601,864 in flight costs to accept just seven people – about $1.1m per individual, according to the report’s analysis of government spending data and flight records. The administration similarly paid Equatorial Guinea $7.5m to take 29 people, costing taxpayers an estimated $282,126 per person. Palau was paid $7.5m with no documented flights, Eswatini was paid $5.1m for 15 people, and El Salvador $4.76m for about 250 people.”

Not only is this fiscally irresponsible it is also immoral as the administration has struck a deal with Iran to deport 400 Iranian nationals, including Christian converts, ethnic minorities and political dissidents! I guess Trump will lower the blockade to let them get into the country.