Tag: joe biden

The Student Loan Pause Has Made Borrowers Worse Off

The over three-year-long moratorium on federal student-loan repayment has long been hailed as a godsend for student loan borrowers. While announcing yet another extension of the moratorium in December 2021, President Biden praised it as “badly needed breathing room during the economic upheaval caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic.”

However, a new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research indicates that borrowers whose loans were frozen by the moratorium actually ended up in a worse position than they started in—and have even accrued more student loan debt.

In March 2020, the Trump administration announced a moratorium on federal student loan payments for 60 days, citing the financial hardship faced by borrowers in the early days of the pandemic. In the three years since, the pause has been extended eight times with a variety of legal justifications. Payments are still currently paused, though the recently signed debt ceiling bill sets a hard expiration date for the moratorium on August 30.

The total cost of the pause is estimated to be as high as $5 billion per month, or almost $200 billion by the time repayment starts in September. And all that spending might not have even helped those whom the moratorium was supposed to benefit. According to the paper, those whose loans were frozen by the moratorium actually took on more debt—borrowing more on credit cards and mortgages and even accruing more student loan debt rather than working to pay off other debt they owe. 

The paper compared those whose student loans were frozen by the moratorium because their loans were held federally to those whose student loans were not frozen because their loans were private. There were stark differences between the two groups. For those whose loan payments were paused, they did reap some benefits, like increased credit scores and a decrease in delinquency on student loan debt. However, by other metrics, they actually became worse off. By the end of 2021, borrowers who saw their student loan payments paused increased their credit card, mortgage, and car-loan debt by $1,800 on average and even took on an additional $1,500 in student loan debt compared to those whose loan payments were not paused by the moratorium. Rather than being the “badly needed breathing room” that Biden suggested, the student loan payment pause has actually resulted in borrowers ending up financially worse off than they were before.

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BIDEN EMBRACES ANTISEMITISM DEFINITION THAT HAS UPENDED FREE SPEECH IN EUROPE

DURING A GRADUATION speech at the City University of New York’s law school last month, Fatima Mousa Mohammed, a Yemeni American student, criticized “Israeli settler colonialism” and advocated for “the fight against capitalism, racism, imperialism, and Zionism.”

Her words, which the university administration condemned as “hate speech,” kicked off a new round of public debate about the distinction between criticism of Israel and antisemitism. Republican members of Congress responded by introducing legislation that would deny federal funding to academic institutions that “authorize Anti-Semitic events.”

The bill cites a definition of antisemitism that the Israeli government and its supporters have been pushing in the United States and elsewhere, one that conflates prejudice toward Jews with criticism of Zionism and the state of Israel. And it comes on the heels of President Joe Biden nodding to the definition in the White House’s national strategy to combat antisemitism, released in late May.

In the 60-page document, the Biden administration referred to the IHRA definition — named after the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which promotes it — as the “most prominent” of several definitions of antisemitism and one the administration has “embraced.” But it emphasized that it has no legal value and does not supersede existing laws or constitute binding guidance for public agencies and local government.

Still, by providing neither a rejection nor a full endorsement of the definition, the Biden administration left room for further lobbying for its adoption. Indeed, conservative and pro-Israel groups hailed the strategy as a victory, even as the single reference fell far short of what they had lobbied for: a full-throated endorsement of the IHRA framework as the “sole definition” of antisemitism and as the foundation for federal policy.

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Biden Administration Censors Disclosure Of 2020 Election Censorship Documents

Censoring proof of censorship – that would be a new low for the current US administration, but that is what newly released documents – emails – are now revealing as the inner workings of the Biden White House related to online speech, and what they say they consider to be “misinformation.”

The new documents refer to the time last September when some journalists and civil rights advocates wanted to probe the role of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in censorship on social sites – a part of what is now widely considered collusion between various government agencies, and privately-owned tech giants.

But, it would appear that instead of being forthcoming about this information – in the spirit of democracy, and also, since the cat was already out of the bag anyway – the government, via the Department of Justice (DoJ) got busy trying to effectively sabotage these efforts, Lee Fang reported.

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Biden Surgeon General Pressed On Govt-Funded Transgender Study Where Two Participants Committed Suicide

North Carolina Republican Sen. Ted Budd pressed the Surgeon General of the United States, Vivek Murthy, during a Senate HELP Committee hearing Thursday over a study on transgender health that resulted in two suicides.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded a study on the impacts of two years of cross-sex hormones on adolescent mental health. Depression and anxiety decreased slightly over the course of the examination, and the study was touted as strong evidence in support of offering sex changes to minors. But two participants committed suicide during the study, along with 11 who developed suicidal ideation.

Budd, along with Sens. Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, and others, sent a letter to the NIH asking why taxpayer money was used to fund a study that resulted in patient suicides.

“It is sickening that the federal government is preying on young people and using our taxpayer dollars to advance its radical gender ideology. We are rightfully demanding answers from NIH and we are committed to holding those responsible accountable for this tragic loss of life,” Oklahoma Republican Rep. Josh Brecheen, another co-signer, wrote in a statement.

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Biden Censorship Lawyers Say Questioning Masks And Vaccines “Often Won’t Be” Protected By First Amendment

The judge presiding over the lawsuit filed by Missouri and Louisiana, alleging collusion between the federal government and social media companies to censor certain viewpoints, is said to have asked if the Biden administration has ever read George Orwell’s 1984.

The transcript of the hearing is not yet available. However, Missouri’s Attorney General Andrew Bailey shared some of the statements made by Judge Terry A. Doughty.

“The federal government had a hard time convincing a judge last week that it hasn’t been working with and coercing social media companies to censor free speech,” Bailey tweeted.

“The judge asked the feds if they had ever read George Orwell’s 1984, pointing out the similarities between the case and the book,” he added.

Bailey also tweeted that Doughty asked the federal government about their views on protected speech.

“He asked if an American citizen questioning the safety or efficacy of masks or a vaccine was protected under the First Amendment,” Bailey recalled. “The feds’ answer? ‘It COULD be,’ but often won’t be.”

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Biden Admin is Preparing to Target Americans’ Gas Furnaces Amid Stove Crackdown

The Biden administration is expected to soon finalize regulations restricting which home gas-powered furnaces consumers are able to purchase in the future.

According to experts, the regulations — proposed in June 2022 by the Department of Energy (DOE) — would restrict consumer choice, drive prices higher and likely have a low impact on greenhouse gas emissions. The agency could finalize the rules targeting residential gas furnaces, which more than 50% of American households rely on for space heating, at any point over the upcoming weeks.

“This is a classic example of one size not fitting all,” Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Every home is different, every homeowner is different and people are best off having a wide range of choices. They can work with their contractor to make the best decision for their home and their circumstances.”

“The efficiency standard would effectively outlaw non-condensing furnaces and condensing alternatives would be the only ones available,” Lieberman said. “Those are more efficient, but they cost more. And installation costs could be a big problem for some houses that are not compatible with condensing furnaces.”

Under the proposed regulations, DOE would require furnaces to achieve an annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) of 95% by 2029, meaning manufacturers would only be allowed to sell furnaces that convert at least 95% of fuel into heat within six years. The current market standard AFUE for a residential furnace is 80%.

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FBI ‘Afraid’ Biden Whistleblower Will Get Whacked If Unmasked

The FBI is reportedly ‘afraid’ that the informant who came forward with information regarding a Biden family bribery scheme could be “killed if unmasked.“

“Just left meeting for House Oversight. The FBI is afraid their informant will be killed if unmasked, based on the info he has brought forward about the Biden family,” tweeted Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) Monday evening.

On Sunday, Luna told “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo; “You know, over the last couple of months, House Oversight as well as the staff that helps us run the investigations has proven that we’ve actually been able to provide evidence. You know, before there were speculation on the Ponzi scheme for influence peddling and also the personal enrichment of the Biden family. And now what we’re finding is that these are no longer allegations and we’re creating a hard case.

“In my opinion, Maria, what we’re seeing right now, if this is true, which I do believe that it is true, in regards to Joe Biden receiving briberies and Hunter Biden, I do believe that this is grounds for impeachment. And so it’s important that we continue to move forward to bring this to the American people, but also to that we I think, do a housecleaning within our DOJ because as you had stated earlier, they are protecting this family, the FBI is protecting the Hunter Biden family, and it’s not okay,” she continued (via the Post Millennial).

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Biden Laughs and Smirks As the Press Is Ushered Out of the Oval Office Without Questions

In what is becoming a signature move, President Joe Biden smirked at reporters being ushered from a meeting by staff.

After President Biden and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen delivered four minutes of prepared remarks, media were banished. Biden reportedly laughed and smirked at reporters as they shouted questions at him.

Both leaders laughed while White House staff hectored reporters by forcing them from the Oval Office, where the meeting was conducted.

Fox News further reported:

Reporters were once again escorted out of the Oval Office and prevented from asking President Biden questions at the White House on Monday.

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Biden Argues Damage Caused By Censorship Is Outweighed by “Taking Action To Promote The Public Interest”

Democratic values in the US – the way you knew them – are getting something of an “overhaul” official definition-wise. It all revolves around what’s now known and widely accepted as sufficiently documented Big Tech-government collusion.

The injuries caused by its censorship are “far outweighed by the government’s interest in speaking and taking action to promote the public interest,” – that’s how the Biden administration digests its policy, and spits it out for the willing world to digest.

We obtained the filing of the plaintiff’s response to these claims here.

The administration also claimed that an injunction that forbids federal officials to “demand, urge, encourage, pressure, coerce, deceive, collude with, or otherwise induce” social-media platforms to censor would “prevent the dissemination of vital public health information.”

It looks like, any censorship of free speech – if viewed by a US administration as “necessary” – is now that lesser evil, that “public interest” – that wins over allowing people to speak freely.

But how about the Constitution – is that, too, and its provisions, specifically protecting free speech – now something that’s also so – “fluid”?

That would be the logical, final conclusion, but for now what we have is documented justification to censor speech – if it works in favor of a declared “greater goal.”

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George Soros’ Son Visited Joe Biden’s White House at Least 17 Times 

George Soros’ son, Democrat megadonor Alex Soros, reportedly visited the White House at least 17 times since President Joe Biden assumed office.

White House visitor logs show Alex Soros, chair of his father’s far-left Open Society Foundations, maintains a high degree of influence with the Biden administration. Over the course of more than two years, Alex Soros visited the White House at least 17 times, according to visitor logs obtained by Fox News:

Alex’s most recent visits include three meetings between February 8th and 10th, records released Tuesday show. The visitor logs list Jon Finer, the principal deputy national security adviser; Jordan Finkelstein, special assistant to the president and the chief of staff for senior Biden adviser Anita Dunn; and Mariana Adame, the adviser to the counselor of the president, as the individuals who greeted Alex.

It remains unclear precisely who Alex may have met with for the sessions, as the records can contain White House staff who book appointments, meet the guests and take them to other personnel.

…

The three most recent visits come on the heels of his 14 prior visits to the White House. And while the younger Soros has taken advantage of the Biden connections, he’s also maintained close contact with Democratic lawmakers, which he often boasts about and posts on social media.

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