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It’s Time to Ease the Student Debt Burden on 45 Million Americans

Jonah Hall
5 min readDec 17, 2020

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The issue of economic inequality in the United States is so broadly felt and, for those of us who have enough, we are often insulated from the effects of that inequality. It’s so firmly embedded in the way we live that sometimes those of us that have enough don’t think much can change, or are afraid to push hard for change. Change is often incremental, but with enough momentum, sometimes it leaps.

Those that have more than enough and have become detached from their own good fortune and privilege often get downright angry when the topic of economic inequality is brought up. Being born into comfort isn’t always easy to acknowledge (especially if neighbors had similar comforts), being taught the myth of meritocracy (hard work is only part of the story), and being rewarded with a tax code that often skews toward the wealthiest shielding themselves from paying a reasonable share of taxes (those that imagine the government as a monster that steals money from them, rather than a system that benefits everyone)…all of these factors have allowed the wealthy to insulate themselves.

Since the 2010 Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United — -which effectively opened the floodgates on campaign finance — our political system has been inundated with special interest money. This has further protected corporations and enabled power to flow away from the people.

Zuccotti Park, NYC, November, 2011

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Jonah Hall
Jonah Hall

Written by Jonah Hall

Writing. Poetry. Personal Essays. On the NBA, MLB, media, journalism, culture, teaching and humor.

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