"An astonishing 50% of millennials with student loans are willing to give up their right to vote in the next two presidential elections to have their debt forgiven, but far fewer would give up texting."
"In 2016, Alwaleed bin Talal, an influential Saudi prince called for an 'urgent' end to the ban, saying it is a matter not just of rights but economic necessity. He also detailed the 'economic costs' of women having to rely on private drivers or taxis, since public transit is not a viable alternative in the kingdom. Using foreign drivers drains billions of dollars from the Saudi economy, Alwaleed said. He calculated that families spend an average of $1,000 a month on a driver, money that otherwise could help household income at a time when many are making do with less."
"Republican tax-writers have decided to shift the tax code’s inflation index from the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, to something known as chained CPI, which is a slower-growing method of calculating cost-of-living increases. Using the lower rate of inflation to calculate future tax rates means taxpayers will more quickly fall into higher tax brackets, meaning they will pay more in taxes than if Republicans stuck with the traditional measuring stick. It works out to taxpayers paying $128 billion more to Uncle Sam than they would otherwise over the next decade, and $500 billion more in the subsequent decade."
"Left-wing politicians usually pontificate about raising taxes on the rich, but the truly honest folks on the left openly admit that the real targets are lower-income and middle-class households."
"If your income is between $100,000 and $200,000, for example, those extra taxes may represent what you would have saved for your child’s college tuition, meaning you’ll have to borrow it instead. Or, it might mean the difference between hiring that extra employee to grow your small business. It’s precisely these people, who are by no means rich, who will bear the brunt of the GOP’s politically-motivated tax redistribution. And it just so happens that policies like this one further insulate the very richest 1 percent from the competition represented by upwardly mobile 10 percenters, many of whom work seven days a week to rise out of paycheck-to-paycheck, wage-earner status."
"After the gas station went under, and Kwon’s wife died amid the stress of it all, after he moved from his neighborhood in shame and the Internal Revenue Service changed its policy so no other small business would get steamrolled this way — the agency won’t give Kwon his money back. That’s $59,117.47 the IRS is holding on to. As recently as August — the last time Kwon, now 73, asked for his money back — the IRS said no. He’s heartbroken that the country he loves is treating him this way."
"The proposal, which will no doubt upset some frequent travelers, will be considered by the United Nations in the coming weeks. The FAA is concerned about the lithium-ion batteries that are common in electronic devices like laptops. Tests conducted by the agency have concluded that when large electronics overheat in luggage they run the risk of combustion when packed with aerosol canisters like hairspray and dry shampoo."
"Buyers of Lennar's homes could receive a payment of up to $13,000 toward their student loans, as much as 3% of the home's purchase price, from its subsidiary, Eagle Home Mortgage. The nation's collective student debt stands at an all-time high of $1.34 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York."
"Two years ago, ridesharing at the Atlanta airport was perfect. It was being widely used. It was cheap and convenient. Customers were king. Drivers were making money. Poor people without jobs suddenly had a job. Suddenly, the airport authorities had a problem. They had previously constructed vast parking lots for people coming and going from the airport. They had been a huge source of revenue. That revenue gradually began to fall. Then it fell some more. What had previously been a system of benign neglect began to turn."
"Indians have deposited nearly all the currency bills voided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, denting the central bank’s profit and dealing a blow to his drive to unearth unaccounted wealth. The cash ban prompted the central bank to print new currency, reducing its profit and cutting annual dividend payout to the government by half."