Posted on by Californiacontrarian

A Crime? . . . Hmmm


If stupidity is a crime, is benevolence the pardon?

Obviously, when someone does something really stupid, those of us who proclaim not to be stupid will moan and complain, but will typically bail out “the stupid oaf.” 

Example one: If a dumbass on a motorcycle tries unsuccessfully to beat out a train, we (society in general) rush him to the hospital, do the necessary surgeries, and essentially forgive all of his uninsured hospital bills. Yes, a lot will complain, but in the end, taking care of that dimwit and essentially paying for his poor choice is the benevolent thing to do. After all stupidity is not a crime.

Does it matter why he tried to beat out the train? 

Hmmm, basically no, but what if he had tried to cross the train tracks in an effort to save his mother from being beaten up and mugged? Most likely we would still judge him to be a stupido-citizen, but would now cover his consequent hospital expenses with a benevolent smile on our faces. “He made a poor choice, but because he had a good heart and his intent was good, we should not castigate him, remembering that stupidity is not a crime.”

All that agree with me at this point, raise your hand. Remember your choice as we proceed to example two . . . student loan debt. 

Well not really student loan debt (I believe that the debt accumulated by the students themselves should be repaid in full), but rather the debt that the student’s parents took on through a federal college loan program called Parent Plus. This year for the first time the U.S. Department of Education released information on borrowing taken on by parents on their child-student’s behalf. In many cases these Parent Plus loans are well above what the student can borrow through the federal government which is capped at $31,000. The Education Department requires only a scant check of a parent’s credit history before extending loans, and it requires no assessment of their ability to repay these loans. Hmmm, a setup for big trouble. Duh!

A typical response from a parent who cannot ever hope to repay their Parent Plus loan would go something like this: “Borrowing this money to pay for college expenses was the only way that he/she would get that degree that would insure success in the future. How could I possibly not do it?” Now some are going to say that this is a manipulative response by the parent, but nonetheless it is most likely true. The chance that a child from a poor family will continue to be poor is significantly reduced with that college degree.

I would contend that a lot of these mostly uneducated parents, or often just a single parent, never really understood that they were never going to be able to pay back this Parent Plus loan, . . . but stupidity is not a crime. Nevertheless, let’s assume that they did realize that taking out this Parent Plus loan was reckless, but they were trying to save their son/daughter from a future life of poverty. Should we, as a country, be benevolent and forgive their debt, like we forgave the hospital expenses of that reckless motorcyclist trying to save his mother? Hmmm.

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