Elizabeth Warren tells Jon Stewart about the 'obscene' double standard that's holding students back

The U.S. has now entered its fifth year of historically low interest rates.

But unlike businesses and homeowners, millions of U.S. students cannot take advantage of them, since it is impossible to refinance student loans.

And the government stands to make $66 billion in profits from them.

Last night, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren went on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” to point out this hypocrisy.

““You can refinance your home, you can refinance your business loans, but you can’t refinance your student loan debt,” she said. “And the reason is the government won’t let you.”

Her bill, the “Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act” (which is supported by dozens of Senate Democrats), would allow borrowers with outstanding federal and private student loans to refinance at the interest rates approved last year for new borrowers. It would be paid for in part by raising taxes on wealthier Americans.

Conservatives believe the bill would end up increasing government spending, and that even non-partisan estimates of its cost are misleading because they do not accurately account for risk. The measure failed in the Senate last year.

But Democrats are reintroducing it. Warren told Stewart she believes giving students lower monthly payments would provide a major stimulus to the economy that would balance out costs not raised by the higher tax rates.

“They could buy more homes, they could buy more cars, they could start more businesses,” she said. “They could do more things both to get their own economic lives started, and move this economy forward.”

Watch above.

Rob covers business, economics and the environment for Fusion. He previously worked at Business Insider. He grew up in Chicago.