Elizabeth Warren's modest proposal: Lend to students at same rate as banks
Unless Congress acts, the rate on federally subsidized student loans will double this summer, to 6.8 percent - nine times the discount rate charged to the nation's largest banks.
With interest rates on federally subsidized student loans set to double this summer unless Congress acts - and where have we heard that story before? - U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is stepping forward with a modest proposal: Skip the debate over whether students should pay 3.4 percent or 6.8 percent, and give them the same great deal as our government gives the big banks that, as she puts it, "destroyed millions of jobs and nearly broke this economy."
Just a symbolic gesture? It's hard to see it differently - especially as congressional Republicans seem to be happily accepting the across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester that harm Head Start kids, Meals on Wheels recipients, research-grant recipients, and a long, long list of others, particularly in states with a large military presence. But let's let the Massachusetts Democrat make her case. Here are her prepared remarks to the Senate (and you can watch the video below):