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Tuesday, July 16, 2024

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New video shows Police were warned of Trump rally shooter at least 86 seconds before gunfire; Ohio group voices caution about Vance's record for helping working class; Report: CT government pay equity, representation needs work; NH duckweed study aims to counter impacts of manure, farm runoff.

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Donald Trump is formally put up for GOP nomination and picks Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate. Former presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy and swing state delegates consider ticket.

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Enticing remote workers to move is a new business strategy in rural America, Eastern Kentucky preservationists want to save the 20th century home of a trailblazing coal miner, and a rule change could help small meat and poultry growers and consumers.

Student Loan Decision Will Impact Hundreds of Thousands of Kentuckians

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Monday, July 3, 2023   

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to block President Biden's one-time, $400 billion student debt relief plan will affect hundreds of thousands of people in the Commonwealth.

According to the White House, more than 300,000 Kentuckians had applied or were automatically eligible for debt relief before the Department of Education stopped accepting applications due to legal challenges.

Jason Bailey, executive director of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, said nearly one in five Kentucky adults has student loan debt. He pointed out the decision is the biggest setback for low-income people, who stood to benefit most from the plan, and Black Kentuckians, who are more likely to have student debt due to lower family wealth.

"And carrying that -- for years, sometimes decades -- inhibits people's ability to buy a home, to start a business, to save for retirement," Bailey outlined. "Or to just have the financial flexibility that they need to have a good quality of life."

According to a Kentucky Center for Economic Policy report in 2021, around 616,000 Kentuckians have student debt, with an average amount of more than $33,000.

Under the now-canceled plan, around 200,000 Kentuckians with $10,000 or less in student loans and making under $125,000 a year would have had their debt canceled entirely.

Bailey predicted with inflation and high gas prices, more Kentuckians will face additional hardship, especially those who never completed their college degree, or who whose wages are not growing or remain low.

"It's a huge disappointment and potentially a drag on our economy moving forward," Bailey contended.

Nationwide, household student-loan debt has ballooned from nearly $500 billion to $1.7 trillion over the past 15 years.

Disclosure: The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Criminal Justice, Education, and Hunger/Food/Nutrition. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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