Maxine Waters Exposes Her Ignorance While Trying to Grill Bankers Over Student Loans

Maxine Waters continues to remind us that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez still isn’t quite the dimmest bulb in Congress.

In an attempt to blast the “big banks” for the nation’s looming student debt crisis, Waters forgot that the majority of student loans now come from the federal government, not private firms. “Today, there are more than 44 million Americans that owe … $1.56 trillion in student loan debt. Last year, 1 million student loan borrowers defaulted which is on top of the 1 million borrowers who defaulted the year before,” Waters opened.

Then she turned to the banking executives before her, directly asking “What are you guys doing to help us with the student loan debt? Who would like to answer first? Mr. Monihan? Big bank?”

As the Washington Times reported:

Bank of America chairman and CEO Brian Monahan replied, “We stopped making student loans in 2007 or so.”

Ms. Waters replied, “Oh, so you don’t do it anymore. Mr. Corbat?”

Said Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat: “We exited student lending in 2009.”

She then turned to James Dimon, JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO, who explained, “When the government took over student lending in 2010 or so, we stopped doing all student lending.”

Waters ought to know, given that she is on the committee that oversees federal student loans.

Sister Maxine Waters had no idea that banks stopped student loans in 2009. Her Hero Obama stopped it and her precious Government took over those loans and loaning. So the bad guys, according to her, is not the banks, She is responsible. That makes her the bad guy. Now What???

— Chuck Woolery (@chuckwoolery) April 10, 2019

It’s hardly surprising that private banks would get out of the student loan business when the government got involved because it’s impossible to compete with the government’s subsidized (or below market) interest rates.

Just take a look for yourselves on the explosion in federal student loans outstanding:

Is it really a surprise that when anyone can borrow tens of thousands of dollars from the federal government, colleges can endlessly raise tuition as they please?