The Special 4th of July Episode

Millions of Americans will have to prepare to repay the entire balance of their student debt now that the Supreme Court has overturned President Biden’s loan-forgiveness plan. After a three-year pause in payments and months of uncertainty and legal challenges, the program won’t be allowed to move forward. The Biden administration’s forgiveness plan would have wiped out up to $20,000 in federal student-loan debt for qualified borrowers. The court ruled in a 6-3 decision Friday that the Education Department doesn’t have the authority to implement a program that would change student loans this way.

In this episode of The Higher Standard, Chris and Saied examine this news and determine the effect it will have on the economy as a whole.

They discuss comments by Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel, who says he is not ruling out an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve by the end of the year, despite market expectations. 

Chris and Saied look at a Commerce Department report, indicating that the core personal consumption expenditures price index, a number closely watched by the Federal Reserve, increased 0.3% for the month. On the year, core PCE inflation increased 4.6%, though the headline number was up just 3.8%.

They also offer some thoughts on data from Redfin, showing that nationwide, the median U.S. home sale price fell 4.1% ($17,603) year over year in April to $408,031. That’s the biggest drop on record in dollar terms and the largest decline since January 2012 in percentage terms. April marked the third consecutive month of year-over-year declines following roughly a decade of increases.

Join Chris and Saied for this fascinating and informative conversation.

Enjoy!

What You’ll Learn in this Show:

• The concept of emergency regulatory authority for the President.
• Why US corporate bankruptcies are on the rise.
• Why the only thing that will bring house prices down is more supply.
• And so much more...

Resources:

"Supreme Court Throws Out Biden’s Student-Loan Relief Plan" (Bloomberg)

"US corporate bankruptcies are on the rise" (QZ)

"This economist says he can’t rule out a Fed interest-rate cut by year-end. Here’s why." (MarketWatch)

(Reventure Consulting via Instagram)

"Homes in Austin and Boise are Selling for $80,000 Less Than a Year Ago" (Redfin)

"Median Sales Price for New Houses Sold in the United States" (St. Louis Federal Reserve)

"Key Fed inflation measure shows prices rose just 0.3% in May" (CNBC)

"What the Supreme Court’s Rejection of Student-Loan Forgiveness Means for You" (The Wall Street Journal)

"People Hire Phone Bots to Torture Telemarketers" (The Wall Street Journal)