| Hey Insiders, Today we bring you the latest on student debt forgiveness, an analysis of Sallie Mae's assets, riots in France, and more. Let us know which areas you would like us to cover next. Happy reading! Vildana
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| 1 | | President Biden unveiled an alternative path for student debt relief after the Supreme Court rejected his student loan forgiveness program. The White House announced that Biden's administration would develop an alternative debt relief plan under the Higher Education Act (HEA) to address student loan forgiveness. More: - The Department of Education has introduced the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, a new income-driven student loan repayment plan.
- The SAVE plan aims to reduce borrowers' monthly payments by half.
- The plan also eliminates unpaid monthly interest charges, preventing borrowers' balances from increasing due to accumulating interest.
- Biden emphasized the Department of Education's 12-month "on-ramp" repayment program, which aims to support vulnerable borrowers.
- The "on-ramp" plan aims to prevent negative consequences such as credit reporting, defaults, and debt collection referrals for borrowers who miss payments.
- You can read Biden's entire statement on the Supreme Court decision here.
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What the numbers say: From 2010 to 2019, Sallie Mae's total assets showed a consistent year-on-year increase, but in 2020, the company experienced a decline, likely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of the end of 2022, the total assets of Sallie Mae, a publicly traded U.S. corporation specializing in originating, servicing, and collecting student loans, stood at approximately $28.81B. Total assets are the sum of all assets on a company's balance sheet.
Relevance: Congress founded Sallie Mae in 1972 as a government-sponsored entity for student loan servicing. It became private in 2004 and now offers a range of student loan products, savings products, and tools to assist with college planning and payment, including a credit card with bonus cash back for student loan repayment. Sallie Mae is based in Newark, Delaware, and is one of the country's largest private student loan companies in the U.S. Impact: In recent years, one of the most noteworthy developments in student debt was President Biden's proposal to forgive up to $10,000 in federal student loans (or $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients) for individuals earning less than $125,000 annually. Although the Supreme Court rejected the plan, it would have primarily benefited borrowers who had not already refinanced their loans through a private lender. | | | |
| 3 | | France is experiencing widespread riots and arrests following the shooting of a teenager of Algerian and Moroccan descent by a police officer. The government deployed 45,000 police officers and armored vehicles to address the crisis, which has become the most significant challenge to President Macron's leadership since the "Yellow Vest" protests in 2018. More: - Over 1,300 people were arrested during the fourth night of rioting, with violence escalating in response to the shooting of 17-year-old Nahel M by a police officer in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
- The shooting has reignited concerns about police violence and racism, with longstanding complaints from marginalized urban communities.
- Rioting and looting have spread to cities across France, including Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, and Lille, resulting in the ransacking of shops and the destruction of thousands of vehicles.
- More than 200 police officers have been injured, and the average age of those arrested is 17.
Zoom Out: - In 1961, French police killed more than 100 French Arabs who were peacefully protesting in Paris.
- In 2020, a French human rights ombudsperson found that young men racialized as Arab or Black are 20 times more likely to be profiled and stopped by the police in France.
- On Friday, France rejected the UN accusations of racism among French police.
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| 4 | | 4ocean has reached a significant milestone of recovering 30 million pounds of plastic waste from the world's oceans, rivers, and coastlines since its establishment in 2017. 4ocean operates in 12 locations across two continents and is dedicated to combating the global ocean plastic crisis. More: - The company's TrashTracker, a database that documents the materials recovered throughout their supply chain, has been independently audited and verified by GreenCircle Certified, a reputable third-party organization that tests sustainability claims.
- The bracelets sold by 4ocean, made from the collected plastic waste, contribute to funding the company's cleanup efforts and create employment opportunities for 185 crew members based in the U.S., Indonesia, and Guatemala.
- The crew members, including captains and local artisans, are full-time employees who reside in the communities they serve.
- 4ocean's mission aims to make a lasting impact on the ocean by actively cleaning up plastic pollution and garnering support from millions of individuals who share the commitment to prevent plastic waste.
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| 5 | | Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologized for the Netherlands' role in slavery and called for forgiveness, acknowledging the failure to act against the crime against humanity in a historic speech. The king commissioned a study to determine the involvement of the royal House of Orange-Nassau in slavery in the Netherlands. More: - Slavery was abolished in Suriname and the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean on July 1, 1863, but enslaved laborers were still forced to work on plantations for an additional 10 years.
- Research reveals that the king's ancestors earned the equivalent of €545M ($595M) from slavery, including profits from gifted shares.
- The Dutch government has established a €200M ($217M) fund to address the legacy of slavery and improve education on the issue.
- Some groups in the Netherlands, such as Black Manifesto and The Black Archives, demand reparations alongside an apology for historical injustices.
- Other countries, including Denmark, Belgium, and the U.S., have also offered apologies for their historical abuses related to slavery.
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| 6 | | Cambodian PM Hun Sen threatened to ban Facebook but later retracted the warning. The Meta oversight board called for a six-month suspension of Hun Sen's accounts, stating that his posts enabled the spread of threats and intimidation. More: - Hun Sen deleted his Facebook account, claiming it was due to impersonators, and expressed intentions to use Telegram and TikTok instead.
- The threat to block Facebook raised concerns among Cambodian users, especially those relying on the platform for online businesses.
- In his late-night statement, Hun Sen highlighted the importance of e-commerce and stated that he had his "own reasons" for ending his association with Facebook.
- Critics view Hun Sen's actions as retaliation and a means to avoid the suspension, while his supporters called for a ban on Facebook and promoted his new social media accounts on Telegram and TikTok.
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