Attempt to buy votes
Student loans
Regarding “Biden taking ‘hard look' at student loan forgiveness,” (April 28): At least 40,000 borrowers under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program will see “immediate debt cancellation,” as part of recent changes announced by the Department of Education. President Joe Biden is now looking at potentially canceling additional student loans. This is an attempt to buy votes for the Democrats. A recent survey tells why so many student loans are in default. According to Intelligent.com, 25 percent of college graduates earn less than $30,000 a year. It is safe to assume that very few of these poorly compensated graduates have degrees in engineering, math or chemistry and that most of the poorly paid graduates have degrees in the humanities. If anyone is going to buy a home or new car, their lender will not loan them more than they can be expected to pay back. and student loans should not be given to people majoring in subjects where they cannot be expected to earn enough to repay the loan. Colleges and universities often maintain and publish records showing the average salaries of their graduates in each of the majors they offer, one and five years after graduation. These salaries should be used to determine the amount a student can borrow to go to school.
David Reynolds Sr., Porter
How about looking into canceling the interest on federal student loans instead if he doesn't want to cancel the loans entirely? A $20,000 loan at 6 percent interest that accumulates will only dig a student deeper into debt. The government should not be in the business of making money off of the students. They'll get their “interest” in the form of taxes when the students get jobs after they graduate.
Lillian Shaver, Sugar Land
If debt is forgiven for borrowers, why shouldn't those who paid the full freight get an equal tax credit?
Jack Gaarder, Spring
Hidalgo’s aides
Regarding “Harris County leaders approve outside firm to provide security for Judge Lina Hidalgo,” (April 26): We need more from the county judge as she continues to employ two aides facing felony charges of bid rigging on a contract where the judge was a political ally of the winning bidder.
Of course the aides are presumed innocent, yet to have them continue in their sensitive jobs while their felony cases are pending may not be advisable. The people of Harris County must have confidence in the administration of other county business. The judge presumes her aides are innocent and claims her view is mostly because of the partisan politics in the criminal investigation conducted by the Texas Rangers and requested by the Harris County district attorney.
For the aides to continue in their positions in the administration with probable future involvement in other bidding matters requires more persuasive detail by the county judge in support of her unusual charge of what could also be called an unlawful investigation. What partisan office does she believe is behind the sinister plot against her aides? Is it District Attorney Kim Ogg. who has been her frequent adversary in losing battles on budget issues in commissioners court? Or is it her more public political opponent, Gov. Greg Abbott, who appoints the leadership of the Department of Public Safety with authority over the Texas Rangers? And who could doubt the governor's preference that a Republican be elected county judge in November 2022?
These are the two obvious targets for the judge's charge that her aides are the victims of a prosecution by a partisan actor. The charge, if true, makes the investigation itself a potentially illegal and malicious effort to smear innocent people as criminals. To keep her aides on the job, the county judge needs to lead public opinion with the full disclosure of where the partisanship lies and how it informs her of their innocence.
David Jones, Houston
Wild for flowers
Regarding “This time of year, nothing else matters but wildflowers in Texas,” (April 22): Thank you to Brandi Keller for the interesting, informative article on Texas wildflowers. I like them all, but the only one I can grow is the evening primrose, so I wish you had said more about it. Usually my front yard is full of them, but this year they are a little sparse. I love the way they almost glow in the dusk. In particular, I would like to know more about the fabulous pink evening primrose moth, which I have been hoping to attract, but never been lucky enough to see.
Dianne Wells, Houston