Why complain about $4/gallon gas when paying $20/gallon for water?

 I am baffled by people who regularly buy bottled water unless they live in Flint, Michigan or other municipalities with known problems in the water supplies. Consumer Reports has tested so-called pure spring water and found it no better than municipal water supplies and sometimes much worse. Bottled water comes in plastic that is made from petroleum and is a major source of waste. 

Even the small percentage of plastic bottles that get sent for recycling don't always get recycled. Recycling is a n energy intensive process.

Time to do the math, consider the environment, and stop buying bottled water. Buy a steel water bottle and use it.

"Some noncarbonated bottled water products sold in the U.S. and tested as part of a new study contained potentially toxic PFAS chemicals, prompting calls for the federal government to set standards covering the chemicals.

The study, published in the journal Water Research and led by Johns Hopkins University researchers, detected PFAS substances in 39 out of more than 100 bottled waters tested, in some cases at levels deemed concerning by water quality experts."

Source: https://www.consumerreports.org/bottled-water/pfas-in-bottled-water-new-study-finds-a1111233122/

 

 

Student Loan Forgiveness

Under President Biden's federal student loan forgiveness program:

• up to $10,000 in federal loans (does not apply to private loans)
  
• up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients
• if income is <$125,000/individual or $250,000 for couples
• student loan payment freeze is extended to December 31, 2022
• interest rates remain at 0% until repayment starts
• if you voluntarily made payment during the repayment freeze, you can apply to your servicer for a refund. 
• Typically loan forgiveness is treated as income by the IRS, BUT cancelled student debt is exempt from federal taxes. 

• Borrowers in 7 states may be taxed on their student loan cancellation: 

  1. North Carolina
  2. Indiana
  3. Mississippi
  4. Arkansas
  5. Minnesota
  6. Wisconsin
  7. California

  "The U.S. government has instructed student loan servicing companies not to mail a federal 1099-C form to the millions of borrowers who receive debt relief. This matters, a lot."

  "In the past, the 1099-C form has been sent not only to borrowers who receive debt relief, notifying them of their tax burden, but also to state tax authorities."

  "This year, though, because debt relief is not considered taxable income at the federal level, the U.S. government won't be sending out 1099-C forms." Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/09/09/1121717824/biden-student-loans-debt-cancellation-taxpayer-impact
  

Stay tuned to the federal student aid website for details on how to apply.

About 43 million Americans owe federal student loans. One-third of students borrow to pay for college, with average balance of $37,667.

• 1/3 of those owe < $10,000
• 1/2 owe < $20,000
• The Department of Education estimates that almost 90% of the relief in the measure will go to those earning less than $75,000 a year
  

If you have trouble repaying federal student loans, apply for an income-driven repayment plan. 

If you worked for a government agency or nonprofit, you may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. 

For readers who think this is a give-away to get votes, remember that Republicans have repeatedly (since Reagan) passed tax cuts for the wealthy, most recently in December 2017. Fifteen percent of the benefits went to people making under $75,000 a year, and 85% went to people making over $75,000 a year. People making over $250,000 a year got nearly half of the benefits of the GOP tax bill and are getting 0 dollars under this student loan forgiveness plan.

Remember, there was very little objection to the forgiveness of 10.2 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to businesses, with $72,500 being the average dollar amount forgiven.  

After World War II, the U.S. funded higher education through a series of measures that increased college attendance while keeping prices low. Beginning in the 1980s, that funding began to dry up and tuition prices rose to make up the difference.  The shift to “high-tuition, high-aid” caused a “massive total volume of debt,” according to Assistant Professor of Economics Emily Cook of Tulane University.

I was fortunate enough to complete college and grad school with no student loans (I didn't own a car) because the taxpayers of the states adequately funded the land grant colleges that I attended, unlike today. Back then a student could work a minimum wage job and actually pay for a realistic amount of college costs. So folks who paid their way through college and/or repaid student loans may object to helping out today's student loan debtors but they may be the same people who vote for politicians who promise to NOT raise taxes or even lower their taxes.