Predatory animals prey on the weak and the unprotected. The target market for predatory educational institutions are poor students who are not well informed. They are encouraged to take out loans to purchase training programs and/or degree granting programs that promise them high paying jobs upon completion. The loans are typically supported by the federal government. Most of these educational institutions lie about the employment opportunities for their graduates. Students either fail to complete the programs or they fail to find the promised jobs upon completion. What they get for their efforts are loans that have to be repaid.
The government has established new rules that the educational institutions must satisfy in order to be eligible for federally supported loans. The intent is to limit predation and to husband the funds available to support needy students. The predators don't like the new rules so they have lobbied Republicans in Congress to prevent the government from enforcing the rules. The Republicans can't be obviously against predation, so they have invented a rationale for blocking government enforcement. In this case they claim that they want to reduce the role of government in higher education. This argument complements another claim that often accompanies efforts to "get government off of our backs". That is, consumers make better choices than government can make for them. Predators should be free to attack their prey. This is how they misuse the concept of liberty when its suits their purpose. They oppose liberty when government interferes in the market to support their friends.
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