An educated population is dangerous to an oligarchy

[CousinIT]

Link to tweet

THREAD: Something many have overlooked is that the GOP just voted to financially devastate grad students by taxing their tuition waivers. This is ridiculous. Let's say a grad student gets a stipend of $30k and a tuition waiver...this is common. 1/

Since the tuition waiver isn't income for the student, it's not currently taxed as income. The #GOPTaxScam just changed that. Now, a grad student will be taxed on their stipend and tuition waiver...meaning your taxable amount just went from $30k to $80k or more. 2/

That would mean the student could owe $10k or so in taxes. Only very wealthy students will be able to afford grad school. This really harms our research competitiveness, too. 3/

When orgs like NIH fund research into things like biotech, every dollar means $1.70 in output. That work is driven largely by grad students. Why would students go to school here in the US with this idiotic new tax burden? Oh right...they won't. They'll go abroad. 4/

All of this, just to give more money to corporations & wealthy people who are already doing just fine...record profits for corps & gains for the stock market. Combine this new grad student tax with losing the student loan interest deduction & we can see where this is going. 5/

An educated population is dangerous to an oligarchy. The GOP claims to be for jobs & econ prosperity for all, but this action shows otherwise. They are gutting our ability to innovate & educate to give their wealthy buddies a nice holiday gift. 6/

To that, I say: screw you, GOPers who voted for this. America won't forget your efforts to sell out your countrymen & women's educational future to help your cronies. We will vote you out next year. Mark my words. /#

[saidsimplesimon]

1. thank you, CousinIT

To that, I say: screw you, GOPers who voted for this. America won't forget your efforts to sell out your countrymen & women's educational future to help your cronies. We will vote you out next year. Mark my words. /#

[RKP5637]

2. US World leader. Ha, the US will be at the bottom of the world heap eventually given directions

such as this. As is often said, US = United Stupidity. And GOP = Grand Old Profiteers (or Pedophiles) as one wishes.

[gvstn]

5. This is sadly true.

These clowns in Trump's cabinet are having a field day with the delegater in chief who doesn't read the actual bills/executive orders he is signing.

Your signature is apt. If the U.S. truly believed in these simple human rights we could really hold our own against the rest of the Western world and maybe even set a good example again in respect to certain human rights.

[defacto7]

3. I've been saying this for years...

An educated population is dangerous to an oligarchy.

[crazylikafox]

4. I doubt that they overlooked this. I'm sure they did it on purpose.

Only the wealthy will be able to afford a graduate education. The peasants shouldn't be educated anyway. They just cause trouble when they're too smart.

[Angry Dragon]

6. Sent this to my rep

[BigmanPigman]

7. This reminded me of the film Metropolis by Fritz Lang,

"As deep as lay the workers' city below the earth, so towered the complex above the city named "The Club of the Sons" with its lecture halls, libraries, it's theaters and stadiums".
This is our future with the GOP.