What A Day - SCOTUS, Throw Us A Loan

Episode Date: March 1, 2023

The Supreme Court heard arguments over President Biden’s plan to cancel more than $400 billion in federal student loans, and whether his administration has the authority to do so. We cover the two cases challenging the loan relief program, and how the court's conservative majority responded.And in headlines: a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey, California ended its statewide coronavirus emergency order, and President Biden announced that he will nominate Julie Su to be the next Secretary of Labor.Show Notes:What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastCrooked Coffee is officially here. Our first blend, What A Morning, is available in medium and dark roasts. Wake up with your own bag at crooked.com/coffeeFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

It's Wednesday, March 1st. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. And I'm Juanita Tolliver. And this is What A Day, where now that it's Women's History Month, we're looking to open up the canon, y'all. Yeah, me telling a friend what I ordered at lunch, that is at least one woman's history. And Real Housewives reunion panels, that is absolutely women's history.

I don't want to hear any arguments. Regardless of us opening the canon or not, that just is. It's a fact. On today's show, California ended its statewide coronavirus emergency order. Plus, a new addition to the Oscars performance lineup promises to bring some epic dance moves to the stage. But first, the Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday over whether President Biden has the authority to cancel federal student debt, namely the $400 billion in student loan forgiveness that his administration offered to millions of Americans

in the wake of the pandemic. All right, we know this is a hot topic. So what arguments did the court hear yesterday, Priyanka? Yeah, so there are two cases that are challenging the plan. One came from six Republican-led states who sued to stop the plan last year. They're saying that Biden was overstepping his authority. Those states include Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina. If you are a person living in one of those states and you would actually like your student loans forgiven, now might be a good time to make your voice heard.

The other comes from two individual borrowers who didn't qualify for the plan and are mad about it, basically. They are being backed by a conservative advocacy group and are arguing that the policy can't stand because it didn't allow the public to weigh in on the forgiveness plan and how it would work. The administration, on the other hand, has been saying that this is authorized under the 2003 HEROES Act, which gives the education secretary the authority to change federal student loan programs during national emergencies, i.e. COVID. But the states argue that this oversteps the HEROES Act and that Biden is using COVID as an

excuse to cancel this debt. They also argue that their states could suffer financially from this decision. Now, those arguments are wild in my mind, and I know there was some spicy exchanges during the oral arguments. So walk us through how the justices responded to this stuff. Yeah. So as we all know, conservatives have a 6-3 majority on this court. It has not been a very good time, to put it very mildly. They seem to be skeptical of the Biden administration's authority to cancel this debt. They came back to this theory called the major questions doctrine. It's actually a legal theory that basically posits that agencies in the executive branch have to get approval from Congress before doing anything that would have large economic and political

consequences. The current court has used this logic a few times already to invalidate other major Biden administration policies, like when they tried to let the EPA regulate carbon emissions from power plants, when they tried to implement federal COVID vaccine mandates for large companies, and when they tried to let the CDC extend eviction protections for renters back in 2021. This court is very fond of falling back on this theory. Chief Justice John Roberts also tried to raise questions about the fairness of the policy for people who didn't go to college. He asked why someone who didn't go to college and got a bank loan to start a business

instead wouldn't get loan forgiveness, but someone who did attend college and ultimately went on to make more money should benefit instead. Hold on, hold on. How are we just going to ignore the fact that PPP happened? Right? Like money was given to our entrepreneurial friends. Totally. So Justices Elena Kagan and Katonji Brown-Jackson countered very quickly with the point that this is just one of several other government programs. Some may help the business owner specifically. This one specifically is targeted towards people with student loan debt.

There actually can be programs to help any people. It just really depends on who you're voting for. That part. This case is definitely considered to be one of the biggest that the court will tackle this term, but a ruling isn't expected to come before the end of June. So a little time before we know the final verdict here. A little time, but these pending Supreme Court decisions could mean the difference between making some progress toward closing the

racial wealth gap and helping older Americans retire in peace or setting up the 45 million people who are struggling with student loan debt for a huge financial loss. When President Biden and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced the student loan debt forgiveness program last August, 26 million people flooded the online portal to apply for relief and 16 million people received out student loans years ago are all well off and should be required to pay their student loan debt. But based on an analysis from Politico of the people who submitted those 26 million applications, more than 98% of those applications came from zip codes where the average income is less than $75,000 and about two-thirds were from neighborhoods with an average income below $40,000. And about two thirds were from neighborhoods with an average income below $40,000. So it's pretty clear these folks could use some relief, especially when we know how much relief the government has given to the wealthy and corporations over the past few years.

Yeah, totally. The idea that everybody who goes to college and had student loan debt is now making boatloads of money, super rich, can't be helped by this is completely false. And it also erases all the people who had student loan debt, got student loans, but didn't end up graduating from college because that is also a significant number of people who, you know, this convenient little narrative just ignores. You mentioned that Biden's student loan debt relief could help close the racial wealth gap and help older Americans. Tell us more about that. How would that work? So the data has shown for years that black, indigenous and Latina women carry disproportionate amounts of student loan debt. And when you add in the reality of pay inequity, high interest rates and problematic income based repayment plans,

black and brown borrowers have been on the losing end of student loan debt for decades. According to the Roosevelt Institute, canceling student loan debt would have a measurable impact on closing the racial wealth gap and immediately increase the wealth of black Americans by 40%, for example. And according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, as of 2019, borrowers who are 50 years old and older hold about 20% of all student loan debt. And balances are going fastest among people between the ages of 60 and 69. So this isn't just something that the youths are complaining about. It has implications across multiple demographic groups. Definitely. And so looking ahead, what happens if Biden's student debt relief plan is struck down? Is there any other way that we can get student loan forgiveness? Or is that just gone if this doesn't work?

Look, there are a couple of options on the table for the White House if the Supreme Court strikes down Biden's debt relief plan. The White House could try to modify the existing relief plan to address the components that the court deems unconstitutional. It sounds a little bit petty, but it could yield a positive outcome that works around whatever legal parameters are set in the court's decision, though it could also end up back in court due to additional challenges from opponents. In the meantime, the Biden administration has been working for months to reconfigure its income-based repayment plans to lower the monthly payment amounts and limit the timelines for repayment.

And this could help both past and future borrowers. The administration is also updating the public service student loan forgiveness program to make it easier for government workers and nonprofit employees to receive relief. So there are a few options on the table. But what sticks with me is a comment that Justice Sonia Sotomayor said during oral arguments yesterday, quote, Everybody suffered in the pandemic, but different people got different benefits because they qualified under different programs. And politically speaking,

you better believe that every person who was struggling with student loan debt and could be denied relief will remember who tried to help them out and who didn't. That is what's absolutely wild to me about all of this. Like, we all know who's doing this,

who's trying to deny this from what, like 40 million people? 45, girl. You don't think this is going to have effects? Like, it's just insane to me. People will remember, people will be mad, and people will know who took that money, took that debt forgiveness away from them. When I tell you that vengeance is one of the greatest political motivators. I believe you. Come on. Y'all know we're going to be watching the courts like a hawk on this. So stand by for more updates in the future. Let's get to some headlines. Headlines.

Yet another large earthquake has rocked Turkey and Syria this week. On Monday, a 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck in southern Turkey near the epicenter of the major tremor that hit last month. Officials in Turkey said that this latest earthquake killed at least one person and injured dozens of others as it destroyed several already damaged buildings. Over 10,000 aftershocks of varying intensities have been recorded in the region since February 6th, and the death toll has now passed 50,000 victims. California's COVID-19 emergency declaration expired yesterday, almost three years after it was issued. The Golden State was the first in the nation to institute a statewide stay-at-home order in the early days of the pandemic. It gave Governor Gavin Newsom extra legal power to temporarily change or suspend various laws to fight the virus,

including an order that allowed hospitals to put patient beds and gift shops and other spaces to treat an overwhelming number of COVID patients during the first winter surge. Though most statewide restrictions have already been lifted, health officials say the virus is still killing about 22 Californians per day. Similar COVID emergency orders are still in effect in five other states, though President Biden announced that the federal coronavirus order will expire on May 11th. Some media tea is brewing, this time at The Washington Post. It involves Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jonathan Capehart's exit from the Post's editorial board

back in December. We should note that Capehart, who is black, was the only remaining person of color on the panel. According to a report from Axios, the split came after a dispute over an editorial that ran on December 6th about the runoff election in Georgia between Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock

and his Republican challenger, Herschel Walker. Capehart resigned shortly after the piece was published. And while he remains a columnist, associate editor and podcaster with The Post, the news just adds to the existing tensions within the paper over diversity within its leadership ranks. A spokesperson for The Post told Axios that the paper is, quote, committed to diverse representation in all its pages, which just does not seem to be the case here, but OK. As we say in my community. Michigan Representative Alyssa Slotkin announced Monday she's running for retiring Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow's seat next year. Slotkin, who was also a former CIA analyst, is the first Democrat to enter what will likely be a highly contested race in the battleground state.

And political strategists think she has a good shot considering that she beat her Republican opponent in one of the most competitive races in the 2022 midterms and unseated a GOP incumbent when she was first elected to Congress in 2018. Looks like the Department of Labor can finally take down the help-wanted sign in the window. President Biden announced yesterday that he will nominate Julie Hsu to be his next Secretary of Labor. She is currently serving as Deputy Secretary to outgoing Secretary Marty Welsh. Previously, she led California's Labor Department, and as a civil rights attorney in the 90s, she represented dozens of undocumented Thai workers who were enslaved in an L.A. area sweatshop.

If confirmed by the Senate, she will be the first Asian-American to join Biden's cabinet at the secretary level. The Oscars announced Tuesday that the high energy dance track Natu Natu from the film RRR will be performed live at this year's ceremony. The Best Original Song nominee, which will be competing against compositions from films like Top Gun Maverick and Everything Everywhere All at Once, is a favorite to win the award, having already won the Golden Globe in the same category. The nomination is the Lone Nod from the Academy for the Indian Blockbuster, which grossed $170 million worldwide at the box office. As we touched on last week Rihanna will also take the stage to perform her nominated song lift me up from Black Panther Wakanda Forever additionally lift me up is what Rihanna told Apple Music she wanted for her Super Bowl halftime performance

when I tell you homie was 60 70 feet in the air just getting it okay is she flying again at the Oscars because that would be very cool i don't know how far along she'll be in her pregnancy at that point so i'm sure the doctor will not recommend any more flying yeah at what point in your pregnancy are you not allowed to fly on um on a platform a very small stage anymore these are questions i probably will never need to know the answer to but now i'm curious very curious those are the headlines. We'll be back after some ads. It's Wednesday, WOD Squad, and for today's Temp Check, we are talking about wild animals on controlled narcotics getting the Hollywood bump. Oh my god. The aptly named R-rated horror comedy, Cocaine Bear, came to theaters last weekend, topping

the Friday box office in its debut and grossing $28 million worldwide. That is $28 million more than we are grossing right now. I feel like we have no legs to stand on. Cocaine Bear is a hit. The movie, directed by Elizabeth Banksabeth banks impressive is very loosely based on the true story of a real black bear in georgia who fatally ingested 40 pounds of cocaine when a plane transporting narcotics from a drug bust fumbled a package from the sky i don't know about you juanita but to me this movie has everything cocaine a bear doing that cocaine the late great

ray liotta and in this version the bear doesn't immediately overdose from the 40 pounds of cocaine. He lives. And judging by the trailer, boy, does he live. He truly is the boy who lived. So Juanita, will you be seeing this certainly insane, but probably amazing and very entertaining movie in the theaters? Absolutely not. And I'm wondering about all the millions of people who paid money to see this mess. But I do think our EP had the best response.

Cocaine is one hell of a drug. But Priyanka, are you going to see Cocaine Bear? Because I just can't bring myself to do it. Yeah, I think you might be alone on this one. Cocaine Bear kind of sounds like yes, it's so wild. Like I just have to see it. It just seems like it'll be funny. It'll be hysterical. I disagree. Jackass was hysterical. Cocaine Bear will not be hysterical. Grab a few friends. Go to the theater on like a weekend. See Cocaine Bear. The crowd there, you know, the crowd there is there for a good time. You know the crowd there is probably going to be like 14, but okay. Okay. Well, it's rated R, so they would need to be with a parent.

Did you never sneak into a movie, Priyanka? For real? I think they carded them at the Grove. What? Yeah. Okay, that must only happen in California. That never happens over here on the East Coast. No, I think movie going is like i mean obviously price wise has changed significantly

but i think it's changed a lot since okay i did that as kids like now you aren't even allowed to like do the little double feature i mean you're never allowed to do it but like you could oh priyanka stop snitching on yourself girl who didn't who didn't do the double feature raise his hand timidly but just like that we have checked our temps. I mean, mine's hot. Juanita's a little ice cold on this, but mine, spiking. Frigid cold. Keep the cocaine, keep the bear, keep it all. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, stay above the influence of the cocaine bear or don't who am i to tell you what to do and tell your friends to listen and if you're into reading and

not just julie sue's highly impressive resume like me what a day is also a nightly newsletter check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe i'm juanita tolliver i'm priyanka arabindi and make some women's history today they just had the second part of the Real Housewives of Potomac reunion air. So catch up if you missed it. That is women's history. This might be the march that I start my Real Housewives journey. What do you mean start? Well, it's overwhelming.

There's so much of it. Choose one franchise. I'll do it. I have to recognize Women's History Month somehow. Bless. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance. Jazzy Marine and Raven Yamamoto are our associate producers.

Our head writer is Jossie Kaufman, and our executive producer is Lito Martinez. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka. Thank you.