It’s graduation season. But while graduates and their families celebrate their accomplishments, for millions a new worry is settling in: How am I going to pay all that debt?
Back in 2022, President Biden ordered up to $20,000 in debt relief for each student borrower, but a billionaire-backed lawsuit got the conservative Supreme Court to toss that order out. But the administration has kept at it, Candace Milner explains this week, issuing debt relief to borrowers who’ve been paying their loans back for decades or who attended discredited for-profit institutions.
That’s welcome news, Candace says. But the administration needs to go much further to protect today’s students from staggering levels of debt as the cost of higher education continues to soar.
Also this week, Carla Ventura, who runs a food pantry in South Carolina, says she’s proud to help her neighbors eat — but food pantries can’t take the place of real funding for programs like SNAP.
Finally, Lea Woods and Julie Kashen share an exciting development for how the government can fund good jobs and incentivize child care solutions at the same time. And Paul Armentano explains what it means for the government to “reschedule” cannabis — a move he says doesn’t go far enough, but which still marks “the beginning of the end of cannabis prohibition.”
New This Week…
This Graduation Season, Debt Relief Still Feels Out of Reach for Young Borrowers |
The Biden administration is moving to cancel debt for borrowers who’ve been in repayment for decades. What about those paying steep college costs today?
I Run a Food Pantry but It’s Not Enough. We Need Funding for SNAP. | I’m proud to help my neighbors. But food donations are no substitute for government nutrition programs like SNAP, which is now under threat.
How Public Investment Can Create Jobs — and Ease the Child Care Crunch | Federally funded semiconductor manufacturers will have to help their employees get child care. That could be a model for other industries.
The Beginning of the End of Cannabis Prohibition | The federal government is moving toward “rescheduling” cannabis to recognize its medicinal use. That’s not far enough — but it’s a major step forward.
CARTOON: Give Me Your Silenced | Khalil Bendib
A cartoonist’s tribute to the young people speaking up against the war in Gaza.
In Case You Missed It…
Southern Autoworkers Can Reverse Decades of Job Quality Decline | Marc Bayard and Dev Wakeley
Automakers rely on non-union plants in the South to drive down wages across the country. A UAW victory in Tennessee and an upcoming vote in Alabama could change that.
Don’t Let Congress Widen the Digital Divide | Claude Cummings Jr.
Unless lawmakers act, over 23 million households could soon lose access to free or low-cost internet. That would be a disaster for rural communities and communities of color.
Looking for a Better Paying Job? Good News | Heidi Shierholz
The Biden administration is cracking down on “noncompete clauses,” which employers use to bar their workers from finding better opportunities.
Restaurant Workers Deserve a Livable Wage, Too | Helen H. Abraha
The federal minimum wage for tipped workers hasn’t gone up in over 30 years. Workers in several states are taking on the industry to change that.
