Wendy Sherman: “The Democrat approach makes an awful lot of sense. It builds on the tradition we have in this country that when school…”

“The Democrat approach makes an awful lot of sense. It builds on the tradition we have in this country that when school districts issue school bonds, the Federal Government gives them lower interest rates because the interest on those bonds is tax excluded, tax exempt, and accordingly those who buy bonds from school districts agree to lend that money with a low rate of interest. Building on that, the Democrats have suggested that school districts, in effect, get zero-interest bonds, the chance to issue bonds where the holders of those bonds get no interest at all paid for by the school district, but rather they receive a tax credit from the Federal Government. So instead of subsidizing the interest cost, the Federal Government through the Tax Code would pay the interest costs. The effect for school districts is to reduce their borrowing costs by one-third. That is to say, instead of repayment costs that might cost a school district $100,000 a year, they would be making repayment costs of $66,000 a year. That will allow school bonds to be sold throughout this country and allow us to build and revitalize schools, and that is important for our education.”