California Central Valley. (Photo: public domain)
California Families Tighten Belts While Sacramento Plans to Loosen the Purse Strings
This move couldn’t come at a worse time
By Jesse Rojas, June 11, 2025 6:45 am
Right now, California families are fighting to make ends meet. Gas hovers above $5 a gallon, groceries strain our paychecks, and rent takes a bigger bite out of every paycheck. Yet, Sacramento is considering AB 681—a bill that would triple the state’s loan limit for undocumented graduate students, raising lifetime borrowing from $20,000 to a staggering $138,500.
This move couldn’t come at a worse time. California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office warns of a $73 billion budget deficit, while the state’s Medi-Cal program is already $6 billion over budget. Our leaders are talking about freezing critical health and human services—yet they’re ready to boost loans for graduate programs that many taxpayers can’t afford themselves.
As an immigrant myself, I understand the real American Dream. It’s about working hard, not about expecting handouts or burdening future taxpayers. My family didn’t come to this country looking for more debt—we came here for opportunity, for a fair shot, and for the chance to build something through self-reliance.
AB 681 by Sade Elhawary (D-Los Angeles) ignores that truth. It puts the weight of new loans onto taxpayers already living paycheck to paycheck. It’s not just an education issue—it’s a fairness issue.
California must live within its means, just like every family in the Central Valley does. I urge state senators on the Education Committee to vote NO on AB 681 and keep taxpayer priorities front and center.
RELATED ARTICLES
-
February 24, 2020 -
-
Democrat Assemblywoman Sade Elhawary is also the dingbat who authored Assembly Bill 742 that would require the Department of Consumer Affairs licensing division to “require those boards to prioritize applicants who are descendants of slaves seeking licenses, especially applicants who are descended from a person enslaved within the United States.” How ridiculous is this bill when California was never a slave state and it gives preferences to applicants who were never slaves while it discriminates against applicants who never enslaved anyone.
As for Democrat Assemblywoman Sade Elhawary, who is half-Guatemalan and half-Egyptian, she raised $1.45 million in the 2024 election to narrowly defeat fellow Democrat Efren Martinez, a business consultant who is the son of Mexican immigrants, in the race for Assembly District 57 which encompasses parts of Los Angeles, including Exposition Park, South Los Angeles, and Downtown Los Angeles. Not surprisingly the majority of Sade Elhawary’s donations came from leftist big labor groups like SEIU.
Hopefully Assembly District 57 voters will send her packing in the next election?
Highly doubtful… the SEIU will fund her re-election campaign richly, and if they DO vote her out, the “dominion” will take care of that during “adjudication” to “determine the will of the voter”….
Please for the love of God, stop calling them “undocumented”! They do not have documents because they entered our country illegally thus breaking the law. By definition that makes them criminals. They are criminal aliens, criminal students etc. It is worse to see a conservative publication fall for the “undocumented” BS. Just like the “homeless” instead of drug addicts or mentally ill or bums. You want to be factual call them what they are!
Are bank robbers “undocumented” bank account holders?
BTW that loan limit is not triple but nearly 600%
Perhaps we could classify them by the presidential administration which opened the borders for them, coupled with their country of origin e.g., Biden Venezuelan.