A new report by the Brookings Institution predicts a future default crisis that would turn the U.S. economy upside down. Lisa Rowan, Writer at The Penny Hoarder, joins Your Cheddar to discuss the findings of this study.
By 2023, the cumulative student loan default rate will top 40%. Right now it's around 25%. Rowan explains how it will reach 40% in only six years. She also talks about the difference between public schools and for-profit schools.
Plus, the study suggests that the default rate for African Americans is at an extraordinarily high rate. By 2023, the default rate for black borrowers who started college in 2003-04 is projected to hit 73.3%. Rowan says this is largely due to a labor market that's less favorable to these graduates.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.
