Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder
Aspen Institute
Blog Posts, IDEAS Article, IDEAS: the Magazine of the Aspen Institute Special Issue 2019, and Longform
US student-loan debt—which for many can lead to higher stress, poorer health, and lower savings for retirement—is a hot topic of debate among everyone from advocates, to borrowers, to 2020 presidential candidates. The Institute’s Financial Security Program and the Bipartisan Policy Center recently hosted an event on Capitol Hill to explore the best policy and system reforms for future generations and the economy. The event launched the latest Financial Security Program brief, Student Loan Cancellation: Assessing Strategies To Boost Financial Security And Economic Growth, which focuses on 16 debt-relief proposals put forth by policymakers from across political parties, all designed to aid 44 million student borrowers. The proposals vary from targeted reforms of federal repayment plans to a total cancellation of $1.5 trillion in outstanding federal student-loan debt. US Representative Donna Shalala argued that states’ disinvestment in higher education helped create the problem, and suggested reducing the length of repayment terms and expanding debt forgiveness to those engaged in public service. The problems associated with student-loan debt are systemic and consequential both for today’s debtors and tomorrow’s college students—but they are also solvable.
Most households experience at least one financial shock in a given year, but there are few comprehensive solutions to help them. How can we solve this persistent challenge?
In this edition of the Job Quality Newsletter, we unpack why manufacturing jobs are often seen as desirable yet don’t consistently deliver on that promise, highlight research that shows how efforts to strengthen businesses can also improve the quality of jobs they provide, and consider how government purchasing power can be used to set higher job standards across the sector.
