The Department of Education took additional steps this week that effectively blocks affordable repayment plans and student loan forgiveness for millions of borrowers. The department’s actions follow a sweeping ruling by a federal appeals court last week that widened and extended an existing injunction halting implementation of the SAVE plan, a Biden-era income-driven repayment plan intended to lower monthly payments, halt runaway interest, and simplify the federal student loan repayment system while offering borrowers a pathway to student loan forgiveness. SAVE operated alongside several older IDR plans. In response to the latest ruling, last Friday the department took down the…

House Republicans have put themselves in a potential bind. In a razor-thin 217-215 vote on Tuesday, they passed a budget resolution that promises massive tax cuts—but only if they can find $2 trillion in spending reductions to offset the cost. House Republicans are facing a tricky balancing act: finding enough savings to satisfy fiscal conservatives while maintaining the deep tax reductions that Trump and party leadership have promised. If they fall short, the tax cuts will have to be reduced, putting key priorities—including President Donald Trump’s campaign promises of no tax on tips and no tax on overtime—at risk. But…

Don’t Fall For This 2025 Stimulus Check Scam Did you get a text message claiming to be from the IRS telling you you’re eligible for a $1,400 stimulus check? If you did, please don’t click on the link! A recent scam alert from the Better Business Bureau warns Americans about IRS imposters targeting consumers with false promises of a 2025 stimulus check. The scam text message claims you are eligible for a $1,400 Economic Impact Payment and directs you to a purported IRS web page. This is a phishing scam designed to steal your personal information and potentially infect your…

Gig work offers flexibility and independence, but it also comes with unique financial challenges. Unlike traditional employees with stable paychecks, you experience fluctuating income, irregular expenses, and the responsibility of managing your own taxes. This article tackles budgeting as a gig worker, with actionable strategies that can help you effectively manage your finances, ensuring stability and long-term success. 1. Embrace The Variable Income Budget As a gig worker your priority is to create a budget that accounts for fluctuating income. One method is to use the zero-based budget, which ensures every dollar is allocated to specific needs, leaving no income…

Companies want to keep their biggest customers happy, so they often provide accommodations to do so. And, as it turns out, the government — if it doesn’t already do so — probably wishes it did because the wealthiest households have become an utterly critical part of the economy through consumer spending. Gross domestic product — the total market value of all goods and services produced in a country — is, at least in the U.S., increasingly dependent on consumer spending. Data from the Bureau of Economic Advisors shows that personal consumption expenditures, another name for consumer spending, is currently 69.8%…

Most of the technology we use daily is built on free, publicly available software—yet the developers who create it often don’t get paid. From the apps on your phone to the systems powering major corporations, much of the underlying software infrastructure comes from independent programmers who rarely see financial returns for their work. According to a 2023 study by Synopsys, 96% of commercial software contains publicly available code. Large companies benefit immensely from this model, yet many of the developers contributing to these essential tools remain uncompensated. This has created a multi-billion-dollar gap where businesses profit from free software, while…

BOP In Crisis One of the few remaining senior leaders at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Associate Deputy Director Kathleen Toomey, testified before the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. This comes at a time of extreme uncertainty for the agency. Former BOP Director Colette Peters was fired on January 20, and Acting Director William Lathrop announced last week that he will retire by the end of this week. With leadership in flux, the agency faces unprecedented challenges just as major changes are being forced upon it. Pressure From DOGE The Department of Government Efficiency is driving aggressive…

Social Security Administration Announces Acceleration Of Social Security Fairness Act Benefits The Social Security Administration is expediting benefits under the Social Security Fairness Act, which will impact over 3.2 million Americans. The new timeline, announced in an SSA press release on Tuesday, promises retroactive payments beginning “immediately” and increased monthly benefits starting in April. This pace marks a dramatic departure from earlier projections of year-long delays. The Social Security Fairness Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in January, addressed the longstanding impact of the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, two measures that, for…

House Republicans on Tuesday successfully passed a budget resolution that paves the way for trillions of dollars in tax cuts, which lawmakers hope to offset with significant reductions in federal spending. The move allows lawmakers to proceed with plans to draft legislation that would cut up to $330 billion in education-related spending, in part by slashing federal student loan forgiveness and repayment plan programs. The passage of the budget resolution is a critical next step as GOP lawmakers push forward with a massive reconciliation bill, which they hope to pass via narrow party-line votes in the House and Senate to…

If you asked a group of parents ten, or even five years ago about their children’s access to smartphones, you could easily strike up a debate as to whether children should be allowed to own or use these devices at all. In today’s digital landscape, however, it’s much more commonplace for young children, and especially teenagers, to either own a smartphone or have open access to a family device. In fact, consumer data shows that 95% of teenagers own a smartphone, compared to 73% a decade ago. The same report shows that the average age for children to receive their…