Howdy, In light of the student loan cancellation news, I’ve been thinking a lot about debt and indebtedness. Here’s a quote from my book, Finance for the People: “As long as our economy seeks growth, there will always be debt. Debt and money are both dangerous the way fire [is]. Fire is great. It gives us light, warmth and the ability to cook poultry to the internal temperature of 165 degrees. But unchecked, uncontrolled, or worse, combined with an accelerant, fire can be irreversibly destructive.” There are many reasons why our country’s young citizens are strapped with an albatross of crippling, heinous, financially destructive student loan debt. One big reason is that college costs have grown exponentially over the last fifty years. As costs climbed, state funding declined, and individuals were forced to shoulder the burden that the American taxpayer helped carry. Before the student loan industrial complex came to dominate the story of higher education, those recently matriculated, newly minted taxpayers repaid the debt they owed to society for their education by paying for the next generation's college fees in the form of state taxes. When I think about debt, what is owed to whom, and for what, I am reminded of the fact that debt is a concept that precedes our current economic and financial systems. This is evident through stories of moral debts, debts of gratitude, and debts to gods. I hope we can all realize that despite how divided we may seem, the great majority of us seek the same things: safety, security, and human flourishing. And for those who are flourishing and feeling secure, no doubt because we stand on the shoulders of giants, what debt do we owe to help those coming up after us? Your finance friend,
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P.S. The Nerdletter publishing schedule will return to its regularly scheduled weekly programming.
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1. 😩 I’m Tired Of Financially Supporting My Mom. Am I A Bad Daughter? (Paco for Refinery29) This month, we're talking about what it's like to help support a parent. How do you start having conversations about money without it turning into an argument, while ensuring you protect your own good financial standing? 2. 🧐 What You Need to Know About Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan (New York Times) President Biden’s move means the student loan balances of millions of people could fall by as much as $20,000. This F.A.Q. explains how it will work. 3. 👀 The Perils of Audience Capture (The Prism) How influencers become brainwashed by their audiences 4. 😟 ‘A bigger paycheck? I’d rather watch the sunset!’: is this the end of ambition? (The Guardian) “People think happiness is a privilege, or a byproduct of success – but it can also be a goal.” 5. 🤓 A bookkeeping thing - How Your Bookkeeper Helps You Understand Accounting Better (HYG Original) 6. 👩👩👧👧How three sisters (and their mom) tried to swindle the CRA out of millions (Macleans) The Saker women were the model of rural ingenuity, running a successful restaurant and gourmet food businesses on Cape Breton Island. What they were mostly cooking? The books. 7. 🤔 How Your Insecurity is Bought and Sold (Mark Manson) “Overall our system has done pretty damn well, and still does for the most part. I like to think of it as the ‘least worst’ solution to organizing human civilization. Unbridled capitalism simply brings with it certain cultural baggage that we must learn to be aware of and adapt to. Oftentimes, the marketing in our economy pushes insecurity onto us that is not helpful and that intentionally triggers inadequacies or addictions within ourselves to make more profit.” 8. 😴 Sleepover Kits Are About Making Content, Not Playing Pretend (The Cut) “Like charcuterie boards, sleepover kits are a trend that emerged from the constraints of the act of image creation. The kits are not designed to encourage creativity or even play; they are designed to look cute. They are teaching tools in the pedagogy of artifice. They enable children to create charming scenes for the camera, to behave and react in ways appropriate for social media. Nowhere in the sleepover kit is there space for the instinct to take apart and rebuild, to create something of their own. The idea is to take your place in your individual tent, arrange the props just so, and strike a pose for Mom.”
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