Privatizing student loan debt looks like a Trump/MAGA twofer: sabotaging higher education and further enriching billionaires. Oh, and probably stiffing taxpayers, too.

A Politico exclusive focuses on the Trump administration’s desire to sell student loan debt. But it’s pretty clear that what’s being explored is a path to full privatization of future loans. Privatizing student loan debt “aligns with broader Republican efforts to scale back federal student lending and expand private-sector involvement in the economy,” Politico said. Got it.

There doesn’t seem to be anything good for borrowers in the Trump plan.

Via Politico (with my emphases added):

Selling federal student loan debt raises significant logistical and legal concerns, adding new uncertainty for borrowers. Key questions include what happens to borrower protections—typically more generous than in the private market — and whether the government would continue guaranteeing any of the loans. The federal government enjoys more powerful debt-collection abilities — such as garnishing tax returns or Social Security benefits — than do private lenders.

…

"The only way for it to make economic sense is to structure the deal in a way that really short-changes borrowers,” [Eileen Connor, executive director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending] said. Much of the value of the federal government’s student debt, she said, comes from powers that private entities don’t enjoy: unlimited time to collect on loans, the ability to garnish Social Security benefits and tax refunds, and broad immunity from lawsuits if the government mishandles borrowers’ debt.

It stands to reason that, given an increased risk in the private sector, wealthier students with better credit profiles would get better terms for a loan. That would make it harder for future lower-income students to get a higher education. That, coincidentally, would be a major plus for an administration that wants an ”army” of Americans to work in iPhone factories “screwing in little screws.” Fewer students would also harm colleges and universities, which Trump seems hell-bent on destroying.

There doesn’t seem to be a benefit to taxpayers, either.

More via Politico:

Preston Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said selling off student loans was a dubious idea that made little fiscal sense. Private investors, he said, wouldn’t be willing to pay more than the loans are worth. Even if the goal is to shrink the portfolio and ease administrative costs, he said, it likely isn’t worth it.

“I really don’t see a scenario here where taxpayers come out ahead,” he said. “I think the most likely scenario is that taxpayers get less than the loans are actually worth.”

So who would benefit? Why, Trump benefactors and cronies, of course:

Mike Pierce, executive director of Protect Borrowers, a progressive consumer group, said a potential sale of the loans would benefit wealthy investors rather than families struggling with student debt.

“Once again, we see that across the Trump administration when Wall Street’s demands run against the financial needs of working people, the bankers get what they want,” he said.

You know those billionaires will do something to repay the Trump favor. He probably wouldn’t do it unless some benefit to himself was part of the deal, too.