The Education Department is about to garnish the wages of five million Americans who defaulted on their student loans. Another four million are close behind. Up to fifteen percent of every paycheck, plus your tax refund, plus your Social Security if you’re old enough to collect it. The same administration that handed billionaires the biggest tax cut in a generation is reaching directly into the bank accounts of people whose crime was going to college.
This is debt collection, not governance. The pause they announced in January lasted about as long as a campaign promise. Now the machinery is back: garnishment notices going out to thousands of borrowers a month, scaling up until it covers everyone, no forgiveness plan in sight and no intention of building one. The message is straightforward. You owe us. You will always owe us. And if you can’t pay, we’ll take it before you ever see it.