Dinner Topics » obama

Student loans: “Pay As You Earn” accelerated?

admin — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:47:52 +0000

The economy might still be on shaky knees at best, but it’s not the credit cards that are hurting young adults’ pocketbooks the most lately; it’s student loans. This piece of news is a timely Dinner Topic because along with the data that student loans have overtaken credit cards as the number one source of debt¹, President Obama and Congress are trying to accelerate a proposal known as “Pay As You Earn” to begin in 2012 that would add additional structure for those trying to pay off student loans in the long run.

Check out the links below for more details, but the basic idea behind “Pay As You Earn” is that student loan payments would only consist of 10% of discretionary income. This would come in sequence with additional steps that would allow former students to consolidate loans at a lower rate. In an economy where jobs are scarce and the ratio of debt to income is climbing for many young people, the proposal gives them an opportunity to defer some of the debt for a longer period, at potentially lower rates, and most importantly, in a way that is tied to income so the debt doesn’t swallow up one’s entire paycheck. Of course, adding proposals which decrease the incentive to earn or pay off debt quicker could backfire, but that’s why nothing in politics is ever a slam dunk.

The current news surrounding the “Pay As You Earn” proposal is regarding the attempt to move up the original start date from 2014 to 2012. Will it work? Does it make sense on a micro and macro level? That’s what the dinner table is for. Argue on your own time or post a comment below!

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Read on:

WhiteHouse.gov – We Can’t Wait: Obama Administration to Lower Student Loan Payments for Millions of Borrowers

USAToday.com – Obama sets new rules for student loan payments

DailyFinance.com – White House Announces Plan to Ease Student Loans

(image taken from http://www.costello.house.gov/issues_MythsFacts.shtml)

http://www.fastweb.com/financial-aid/articles/2589-total-college-debt-now-exceeds-total-credit-card-debt ↩

GOP, J-O-Bs, Obama, and Reese Witherspoon

admin — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:04:35 +0000

It’s been a busy news cycle, so if you are heading out, here’s a brief synopsis on what you need to know:

The Republican debate took place last night, and the leading roles this time around went to Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. Perry is getting the support of late and called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” while touting the amount of jobs created in Texas where he resides as governor. Romney tried to laud himself for turning around the economy in Massachusetts, and as a whole, the focus was on job creation and political arguments about whose “facts” were actually right.

Speaking of job creation, President Obama will be speaking to Congress tonight regarding a proposal for new legislation called the America Jobs Act. Job creation is always a great dinner topic because on one hand, jobs are needed to get families out of debt and fund the economy while on the other hand, so-called “creation” of jobs flies in the face of technological efficiencies which promise to make things cheaper through the use of automation and a reduced workforce.

Meanwhile, in the world of Hollywood, actress Reese Witherspoon was hit by a car while jogging. An 84-year-old lady accidentally hit her and Witherspoon was taken to a hospital and later released. Not to worry, fans, the possibility of another Legally Blonde sequel is still a possibility!

Read on:

USAToday.com – The selling of Obama’s job plan is underway

CNN.com – White House: Obama’s ‘American Jobs Act’ will include new ideas

People.com – Reese Witherspoon Hit by Car While Jogging

Obama’s Budget for 2012

admin — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 22:56:59 +0000

The country’s budget has been announced for 2012 and, as expected, Republicans have problems with it and Democrats praise it. Such is the process of politics. According to a Wall Street Journal article, “Mr. Obama’s budget offers up more than $1 trillion in deficit reductions over a 10-year period.” ¹

Depending on the voting preferences in your household or inner circle, this topic will offer plenty of debate for weeks to come. To help keep you informed, here’s a link to the entire budget in pdf form, thanks to WSJ.com:

WSJ.com – Budget Plan Marks Start of Long Fight on Spending (the entire document)

Read on:

Bloomberg.com – Obama’s Budget Proposal Marginally Positive, Moody’s Hess Says

USAToday.com – Boehner, GOP pan Obama budget as ‘spending the future’

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703584804576144050996875790.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories#articleTabs=article ↩

Who is Hu?

admin — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:01:26 +0000

Headlines today all read about Hu visiting the White House to meet with President Obama. If you are not up on your politics, you should know that Hu refers to President Hu Jintao of China¹, and his arrival is an important one because of the constant tensions and differences in some of the most important aspects of life, such as human rights. Both countries are showing their civility to one another through the meeting, and the trip was planned primarily to sign off on some trade deals which are intended to provide mutual benefits for companies in both countries.

Hu’s visit will include a state dinner and then a trip to Chicago tomorrow.

Read on:

NYTimes.com – Obama and Hu Cite Mutual Aims Amid Trade Deals

Yahoo! News – Obama, Hu spar over human rights, hail econ ties

officially named the Paramount Leader of the People’s Republic of China ↩

Obama’s proposed tax deal

admin — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 21:00:15 +0000

You might have heard phrases like “Bush era tax cuts” and “Obama’s tax deal” uttered in your presence the past couple days. If you haven’t been paying attention, President Obama recently reached a tentative deal with Congress which would extend the same tax rates individuals have been paying in recent years. Many Democrats are unhappy because they wanted to single out the so-called “wealthy” households and offer the tax cuts to everyone EXCEPT them.

Republicans for the most part like the lack of change but dislike some other suggestions. In short, Obama tried to compromise in a way that wouldn’t completely alienate himself from his own party while offering enough to Republicans so these proposals will get passed. With unemployment still frighteningly high, the President wasn’t ready to tell people that taxes will increase and certain benefits will disappear come January 1st, so he elected to maintain the status quo. This quote from the Washington Post sums it up nicely:

“The package would add more than $700 billion to the rising national debt, said congressional sources who were briefed on the deal. But with the unemployment rate at 9.8 percent, the White House was focused on winning a compromise that could boost the fragile recovery while preventing the economic damage that could result from letting the expiring tax breaks affect paychecks next month.”¹

Other changes to note in case you start talking taxes at dinner:

The very large estate tax (also called the inheritance tax) is back in play, but only affecting those estates worth more than $5 million. Democrats wanted it lowered to $3.5 million.
One reduction affecting the whole workforce is a drop in the Social Security tax from 6.2% to 4.2%. Employees will obviously see more money in their paychecks while the government will be left figuring out what to so with the increased shortfall in the Social Security account.²

Read on:

msnbc.com – Democrats blast Obama-GOP deal

(chart above from savingtoinvest.com)

History of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

admin — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 18:12:35 +0000

The openness of gays in the military has been a front page story off and on for over a month now, primarily because a judge ruled in September that the ol’ “don’t ask, don’t tell” law violates the First Amendment. Yesterday, a federal appeals court said “hey, slow down” on the overturning of the law, so everything is back to the way it was and will likely stay that way until a full appeal is made in February next year. President Obama is said to be against the law and supports more freedom but would prefer that Congress do its job to change these things.¹

Allowing openly gay people in the military is a hot topic fueled by one’s individual rights and freedoms and lately, it’s fueled by politics, as any government decision made about the military always takes into account the public reaction at least as much as the justness in the decision itself. There are plenty of sites to educate yourself further on this topic, but in the meantime, here’s a brief explanation of the history of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law from the New York Times, which has a great database of archived information on many topics such as this:

“The policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” was made law in 1993 amid a debate over the role of gays in the military. It limits the military’s ability to ask service members about their sexual orientation (don’t ask) and allows homosexuals to serve provided they keep quiet about their sexual orientation (don’t tell) and refrain from homosexual acts.

The policy was adopted as a compromise after President Bill Clinton failed in an attempt to overturn an existing ban on gay service members, which was opposed by top figures in the military. The rationale for the continued restrictions was that the known presence of gay men and lesbians would undermine morale and unit cohesion. President George W. Bush supported the “don’t ask, don’t tell” rules during both terms of his administration.”²

Read on:

NYTimes.com – Court Keeps Military Gay Policy for Now

Is Obama a Muslim?

ESmith — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:22:44 +0000

President Obama has gotten some criticism for his response to the planned mosque near Ground Zero. However, this isn’t the only time that Obama has had problems with Islam. In the last presidential election, the former Illinois senator was assailed because of his middle name Hussein as seen in the snopes.com article from 2008. Recently, Barack Obama has been labeled as a Muslim once again, not by his political opponents, but by 18% of America.

The Pew Research Center survey was conducted between July 21 and August 5 (before Obama addressed the mosque situation in New York) and asked 3,000 people what Obama’s religion is. The survey found that 18% of Americans believe that Obama is a Muslim, up 7% from March 2009. The survey also found that 34% of America thinks that Obama is a Christian, and 43% of the United States say that they do not know Obama’s religion.

The final verdict is that Obama is not a Muslim; he is a Christian. He may not have chosen a church to regularly attend in Washington, D.C., but he’s not going to attend a mosque any time soon.

Read on:

Pew Research Center – Growing Number of Americans Say Obama is a Muslim

USA TODAY – What is Obama’s religion?

ABC News – The Rev. Franklin Graham Says President Obama was ‘Born a Muslim’

ABC News – Stained-Glass Ceiling: Would America Vote for a Non-Christian?