what to say when people say "you took out a loan and you should just have to pay it back"

(fuck them and fuck SCOTUS too)

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As you probably know, SCOTUS blocked Biden’s student loan relief plan last week. In celebration, my shitty aunt (ahem, by marriage) posted this:

You might have people in your life saying garbage like this too! So here’s some info to remember/share with them (only if you *really want to* - you are under no obligation to engage with this kind of bullshit).

• Student loan debt is the second highest consumer debt category (larger than both credit card and auto debt), at a collective $1.6 trillion.

• And the breakdown of that debt isn’t equal. A 2013 study from a sociology professor at Dartmouth found that students from families making $40,000-$59,000/year accumulated $13,000 more debt than those from wealthier families who make $150,000 or more/year. According to a 2016 Brookings report, Black graduates leave school with on average $7,400 more in student debt than white graduates. And this gap widens further over time - four years after graduation Black graduates have nearly $25,000 more student debt than white graduates: $52,726 on average, compared to $28,006 for the typical white graduate.

• The price of college has literally tripled over the last 40 years (300%). And wages have gone up an average of…17%. The math doesn’t make sense.

• The debt hurts the economy. People are doing their best to repay. Interest rates make that impossible for many, as does the lack of wage increases seen with our hyper-capitalistic society.

• Canceling student debt allows people to start businesses, buy homes, handle unexpected expenses (for example: exorbitant medical bills, car breakdowns), take care of their families, and fucking breathe easier.

• “But how would we pay for that?” - By taxing the super wealthy, next question. “But I had to pay off my debt it’s not fair.” - That really sucks! That should make you very familiar with why this is necessary and life changing! “You should have made better choices/You knew what you were getting into/It’s your debt.” - Education is for everyone. Getting an education is a good choice.

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some notable (and less notable) things

• I’m going on summer break and will not be working from the 11th-25th, so there’ll be a lil break from newsletters. Talk to you soon <3. PS: if you have recs for San Diego, drop them below.

• My wonderful neighbor Faye made us the perfect summer meal:

  

  as a Midwestern raised person I didn’t try mussels until I was like 25 and I love them

• And I made a very cheery cherry lemonade bundt cake (adapted from my recipe in Baking By Feel) to go along with it!

  

• If you’re in Austin, Palomino Coffee is my new fave spot.

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weekly abortion affirmation

Google is not a reliable source for information about how to access abortion care - it will often show results for fake clinics (“crisis pregnancy centers”). Visit www.ineedana.com instead.

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my current fave pic of Otie

xoxo,

your favorite becca

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things that permanently live at the bottom of my posts:

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