Demagogue

After recently discovering that a private student-loan provider had charged $278 million in improper subsidies, the U.S. Department of Education decided it wasn't worth pressuring the company to repay all or most of this money.

The NCLBlog, which does a nice job of covering a variety of education issues, cites a N.Y. Times article that summarized the DOE's reasoning:

"... such a precedent might require [the DOE] to pursue other loan companies, too, possibly driving smaller ones out of business and reducing borrowing options."

The NCLBlog offered this reaction:

Think about that for a minute. It is now the policy of the U.S. government to avoid going after large companies that obtain tax money improperly in order to protect small companies that obtain tax money improperly.

Does that mean we can expect an announcement from the Justice Department that federal prosecutors will no longer investigate drug kingpins because it leads to pain and suffering for small-time dealers and recreational users?