Episode

11/23 BIDEN EXTENDS STUDENT DEBT PAUSE; Guaranteed Income Programs w/ Astra Taylor & Sarah Moran

November 23, 2022

Sam and Emma host Astra Taylor, co-founder of the Debt Collective and author of the recent book Remake the World: Essays, Reflections, Rebellions, to discuss the recent updates on President Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan. Then they are joined by Sarah Moran, the U.S. Country Director for GiveDirectly to discuss their work on guaranteed income initiatives. It’s our last live show before Thanksgiving, so tune in! First, Sam and Emma run through updates on US mass shootings, GOP leaders’ attempt to stop the SEC investigation into FTX, and Matt Walsh going victim-blaming mode on the mass shooting victims at Club Q. Astra Taylor then joins as she dives right into Biden revitalizing the student loan moratorium now that his debt relief has been put on hold, outlining how the moratorium could come to an end (via Supreme Court action, debt cancelation, or reaching June 30th), and where the Court battle current stands. Expanding on this, Astra, Sam, and Emma walk through why the Supreme Court’s conservatives (like Amy Coney Barrett) and their ideological obsessions might actually save student loan action, and why, despite that, an ideologically inconsistent result isn’t unexpected either. Wrapping up, they tackle the role of the Biden Administration in the future of this battle, walking through where the Debt Collective has been applying pressure, where Joe Biden’s mindset is currently at, and why the President so absolutely does have the authority to cancel this debt. Sarah Moran then jumps right into the work that GiveDirectly has been engaging in over the last decade, exploring the nature of the program as an argument-in-action on why direct cash assistance works, walking through where the over 500mln in cash assistance has gone, and how, no matter the community, the money consistently goes to the primary needs of family and community. Next, she dives into the role of the “multiplier” effect on local economies, as the assistance is returned to the economy 2.6x fold, before they wrap up the interview by tackling GiveDirectly’s work alongside local governments and why it must be a supplement, rather than an alternative, to social welfare systems.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma watch Condoleeza Rice and Hillary Clinton revise that Libyan intervention was good, actually (as, of course, all other US intervention) with Jon Stewart, Hershel Walker takes it from above him in the GA GOP, and talks erections between Lindsay Graham and Ted Cruz. Tucker keeps on going with his stochastic terrorism in the wake of the Club Q shooting, and Matt Walsh stops on the side of the road to yell about the age of consent, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Debt Collective here: https://debtcollective.org/

Check out Astra’s book here: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1635-remake-the-world

Check out GiveDirectly here: https://www.givedirectly.org/

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Sunset Lake CBD:  This Black Friday Sunset Lake CBD & the Majority Report are teaming up to turn America’s most consumerist holiday into a fundraising opportunity for a great organization. Visit https://sunsetlakecbd.com/, starting November 21st. All CBD products will be 30% off with coupon code “FRIDAY.” That’s not all: orders over $100 will receive ajar of CBD Gummy Bears – A $40 value, FOR FREE. Sunset Lake CBD will donate 10% of proceeds from this Black Friday sale toFeeding Chittenden— the largest emergency food provider in Vermont, feeding over 12,000 each year.

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