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Avoid the Pitfalls of Student Loan Forgiveness
One looming issue facing the incoming Biden administration is what to do with the $1.7 trillion in outstanding student loans, mostly held by the federal government. The most recent internal government analysis found that the United States will lose about $400 billion on its current portfolio of $1.37 trillion, a number likely to increase as the government continues to allocate about $100 billion per year in new student loans. Notably, that analysis did not include the roughly $150 billion in loans backed by the federal government but originated by private lenders.
By way of comparison, private lender losses on subprime loans in the residential lending market were about $535 billion during the 2008 crisis. The student loan and subprime mortgage crises share the same root cause: by statutory design, the government wished to expand both markets, such that loans were made with little or no examination of the borrowers’ creditworthiness. The meltdown of the residential home market arose because private lenders relied on the implicit federal loan guarantee. In the end, this practice pushed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the holders of weak mortgages, over the edge, and ultimately resulted in the wipeout of all the private common and preferred shareholders of the two companies.
Fortunately, the absence of private shareholders ensures that the student loan crisis is not likely to generate such chilling collateral consequences. But the problem of borrower defaults will not go away soon, given that the federal government continues to pump billions of dollars each year into student loans. Unfortunately, this constant infusion of new capital into the lending market is causing increases in college tuition that outstrip inflation, imposing additional costs on individuals who do not take out student loans, and raising the overall cost of education above competitive rates.
has been a period of joy, questions, exploration, more questions, and discovering the path that brings me closer to G-d. Although I began to enjoy many parts of the practice, I would not have imagined learning so much; I can now recite the Amidah in Hebrew and actually understand it! It has become an early morning ritual, and I rest in the silence that surrounds me as I pray. I feel appreciated by my Torah partners; we share questions, our understanding, and our joy. My learning and writing journeys with 
“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.” — Corrie Ten Boom
I recently came upon the antiracism belief that individualism and merit are “racist.” Antiracists refer to them as “American white values.” The racializing of individualism and merit-based achievement seem to be exclusive to those who share the antiracist worldview. More and more people are eagerly embracing the tenets of critical race theory and antiracism as a public posture that exemplifies the noble pursuit of “racial justice.” I want to highlight what should be obvious– the fad of racializing everything, even a long-standing virtue as individual merit, is further eroding our already-fragile civic ties while trivializing real racism.
I love watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade while I prepare food. Loved Snoopy’s NASA outfit this year, and the cheerleaders, but not performing to a RuPaul song. Santa coming down past Macy’s is to me, the official kick-off.
The remarkable courtroom events, following the sentencing of Amber Guyger to 10 years in prison for the 
