🇺🇸 Debt Deleted

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📉 Biden Job Approval: Approve 45, Disapprove 53 (Rasmussen Reports)

📈 Biden Job Approval: Biden's Job Rating Rises to 44%, Highest in a Year. A majority (53%) of Americans still disapprove. More from Gallup.

🐘 Pennsylvania: Trump vs. Biden: Trump 47, Biden 42 (Emerson)

🐎 2022 Senate Election Forecast: Democrats now have a 65% chance to take the upper chamber (FiveThiryEight)

TRENDING

Right: FBI officials slow-walked Hunter Biden laptop investigation until after 2020 election (Fox News)

Right: DeSantis calls Fauci a 'little elf' and says that somebody needs to 'chuck him across the Potomac' (The Blaze)

Right: 'Pawn for the Democrats': Trump calls for McConnell to be removed 'immediately' as GOP leader (Washington Examiner)

Left: Abortion Trigger Bans Just Went Into Effect In 3 More States (Huffington Post)

Left: Eight Sources Say Feds Are Not Done With Matt Gaetz (Daily Beast)

Left: The Republicans Are Lying (Quite Pathetically) About Student Debt Forgiveness (Mother Jones)

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QUICK CLICKS

US Corporate Profits Soar, No US Open for Novak, Putin Increases Troop Count

US: Dangerous heat predicted to hit 3 times more often in future (AP News)

US: Missouri school district revives paddling to discipline students (WaPo)

US: Omicron’s Mutations Impaired Vaccine Effectiveness, CDC Says (Bloomberg)

US: Uvalde school board fires police Chief Pete Arredondo after mass shooting (CBS News)

US: DOJ releases memo behind Barr's decision not to prosecute Trump for obstruction (ABC News)

US: Texas requires ‘In God We Trust’ signs in schools. A man wants some in Arabic. (WaPo)

World: Myanmar authorities detain the U.K.'s former ambassador to the country (NPR)

World: US carries out additional airstrikes in Syria following rocket attack that injured US troops, US official says (CNN)

World: Putin signs decree to increase size of Russian military; 25 confirmed dead after Russian rocket strike on Ukraine’s Independence Day (CNBC)

Business: US Corporate Profits Soar With Margins at Widest Since 1950 (Bloomberg)

Sports: Unvaccinated Novak Djokovic withdraws from US Open as he can't travel to United States (ESPN)

EDUCATION

Debt Deleted

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced he will forgive $10,000 in federal student debt for borrowers earning under $125,000. According to the White House, nearly 45% of borrowers, or almost 20 million people, would have their debt fully deleted.

Reporting From the Left: Biden announces student loan relief for borrowers making less than $125,000 (CNN)

Reporting From the Right: Biden announces student loan handout as national debt soars (Fox News)

From The Flag: The cancellation of student debt has been equally condoned and criticized. Here’s more from both sides.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

This Is Reckless and Unfair

• This is an unfair measure that forces taxpayers and those who didn't attend college to subsidize the cost for those who did.

• This is a misguided and dangerous policy initiative that’s being promoted as something that’s good for the public.

• This isn’t loan forgiveness. Biden is unilaterally breaking contracts and forcing the burden on taxpayers.

“Biden’s Half-Trillion-Dollar Student-Loan Forgiveness Coup” The Editorial Board, WSJ Opinion: “This is easily the worst domestic decision of his Presidency and makes chumps of Congress and every American who repaid loans or didn’t go to college. The President who never says no to the left did their bidding again… Worse than the cost is the moral hazard and awful precedent this sets. Those who will pay for this write-off are the tens of millions of Americans who didn’t go to college, or repaid their debt, or skimped and saved to pay for college, or chose lower-cost schools to avoid a debt trap. This is a college graduate bailout paid for by plumbers and FedEx drivers. Colleges will also capitalize by raising tuition to capture the write-off windfall. A White House fact sheet hilariously says that colleges will ‘have an obligation to keep prices reasonable and ensure borrowers get value for their investments, not debt they cannot afford.’ Only a fool could believe colleges will do this.”

“Biden’s student loan ‘forgiveness’ is just Joe sticking it to the little guy — again” Erielle Davidson, NY Post Opinion: “Team Biden’s student-loan 'forgiveness' scheme is yet another example of a misguided and dangerous policy initiative masquerading as a public good — no surprise from an administration in which political missteps are the norm. … But it’s like a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound. It not only falls short of the hype but provides a false sense of financial relief, worsening an already deeply broken ­system. The reality is that it’s not the government 'forgiving' debt but the US taxpayer being forced to cover it. … What’s…particularly galling is that those set to benefit most are among the top income earners. Penn Wharton’s recent analyses found around 70% of the forgiven debt will have been held by those in the top 60% of the income distribution. Adding salt to the wound is the fact that those living in Washington, DC, likely have the most to gain: The capital is home to the highest average amount of student debt per borrower.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Biden’s Student Loan ‘Forgiveness’ Is An Unjust, Cynical Abuse Of Power David Harsanyi, The Federalist

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Mixed: Not Enough, Regressive, or Amazing!

• This isn’t enough to specifically address how Black Americans have been disproportionately affected by student loan debt.

• This is a regressive, expensive mistake

• The argument that canceling student debt is inflationary is flawed, and this measure will actually help the American economy.

“NAACP CEO: Biden’s reported plan to cancel student debt isn’t enough” Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., Wall Street Journal Opinion: “​​Black Americans have been disproportionately devastated by student loan debt. Four years after graduating, they hold an average of almost $53,000 in debt, almost double the $28,000 average White Americans hold. And they typically end up owing 6% more than they initially borrowed, while White borrowers owe 10% less. Canceling just $10,000 of debt is like pouring a bucket of ice water on a forest fire. It hardly achieves anything — only making a mere dent in the problem. Biden must recognize and regard student debt as a racial and economic justice issue. Canceling $50,000 or more per borrower would free millions of Americans, allowing them to become more active participants in the US economy. It would also drastically reduce the racial wealth gap. And, after generations of racial oppression, it would finally open the door for so many Americans to become homeowners and generate wealth, not only for themselves, but also for their children and grandchildren.”

"Biden’s student loan announcement is a regressive, expensive mistake" Editorial Board, Washington Post: "Widely canceling student loan debt is regressive. It takes money from the broader tax base, mostly made up of workers who did not go to college, to subsidize the education debt of people with valuable degrees. Though Mr. Biden’s plan includes an income cap, the threshold does not reflect need or earnings potential, meaning white-collar professionals with high future salaries stand to benefit. ... Mr. Biden’s plan is also expensive — and likely inflationary. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that extending the loan pause to the end of the year would cost $20 billion, while forgiving $10,000 for households making less than $300,000 would cost $230 billion. Together, these policies would nullify nearly a decade’s worth of deficit reduction from the Inflation Reduction Act. ... Mr. Biden’s student loan decision will not do enough to help the most vulnerable Americans. It will, however, provide a windfall for those who don’t need it — with American taxpayers footing the bill."

One more opinion piece from the Left: Why Canceling Student Debt Will Pay Dividends For All Joseph E. Stiglitz, The Atlantic

FLAG THIS

Americans Believe This Could Make Inflation Worse

Before Biden’s announcement, a survey found Americans are generally worried that student loan forgiveness could have unintended consequences for the economy. Specifically, 59% of Americans are concerned that student loan forgiveness will make inflation worse.

To that end, the survey found that 53% of polled adults would use the savings from student loan forgiveness to pay off other loans, and 45% said they would contribute to retirement. (CNBC/Momentive)

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

Johnson Nominated, Classic Toys, "Refloating" the Fleet

On August 26, 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated to run for the presidency at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. His running mate would be Hubert H. Humphrey.

Mental Floss: How 10 Classic Toys Were Invented

The Guardian: How medieval carpenters are rebuilding Notre Dame

Popular Science: How Much Water Should You Drink in a Day?

Today I Learned it took 20,000 hours of underwater repairs but the United States managed to refloat a majority of the battleships sunk at Pearl Harbor. The recovered ships, including the USS West Virginia, USS California, USS Tennessee, USS Maryland, and USS Pennsylvania, all fought in the Philippines.