EDITORIAL
BY DHIREN SHAH
Hello Readers,
A solar eclipse comes on a new moon day and a lunar eclipse comes on a full moon day. On April 8th, there was a solar eclipse, and the news made much bigger than it was. For days, we were talking about the solar eclipse and its impact. The next total solar eclipse may come to the US in 2045. So, everyone was curious. However, they had to wear protective glasses, which are 1,000 times stronger than the darkest sunglasses. I hope everyone protected themselves.
There was an earthquake of 4.8 magnitude last Friday in NJ, only 8 miles away from where I used to live for about 31 years. Even the aftershocks of 4 magnitude shook our house, but there was no damage. My wife who was at home and she felt the house shaking, and it felt like a train passing by.
Do you know that scientists discovered an ocean underneath the earth, which is larger than all the oceans combined? Now, some scientists were wondering how the water stays the same in all the oceans. Scientists from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois discovered that there is an ocean underneath the crust of the earth. That gave the answer to the questions of water distribution in the oceans.
President Biden announced his new plan to help 25 million students with their student loans. According to the reports, up to $20,000 would be waived against the interest of the loans. That means rich bankers will be richer. Unusually high interest will be paid by the government (our taxes), but that does not restrict the bankers from charging the interest. So, all the unpaid interest by the students will be paid by the government.
Yes, in some instances when students pay regularly without missing a payment and pay the minimum amount due, it will benefit by government paying against the interest, which will reduce their outstanding balance. However, the principal will not be reduced. So, temporarily they will be relieved. However, if they don’t force the bankers to reduce the interest to 3% or lower, then it is NOT worth it for the students and future payments.
As of 2023, student loan interest rates averaged 5.5% for undergraduate studies and 7.05% for postgraduate studies. If they miss a payment, it might go up including penalties. The average student loans were $38,290 in 2023. 40% of the student loans are over $80,000. Why did it become so high? When a student wants to study higher education to become a doctor, engineer, lawyer and so on, their loan becomes larger, and even though they are well educated they have to suffer for a long time. This drives them to charge more fees for their services to the public. The cycle goes on.
Who suffers eventually…the people and the craze for money and power. The student loan center must be revisited by the government, and some restrictions are needed to protect American students who are citizens or green card holders. Also, the government should strictly follow and watch how the colleges are distributing the loans. There should be restrictions on the top rates, which should not go beyond 4% in my opinion. For foreign students, the top restrictions may have to be more than U.S. students in my opinion.
The elections are close, both locally and primaries. This time, these will be very interesting elections, especially the Senatorial election between Bob Menendez and Andrew Kim, and locally in Orange with Dwayne Warren, Quantavia Hilbert and others. Let’s see what happens. The elections are basically people vs. power.
The Israel-Hamas war continues. The cease fire warning by President Biden had little effect. Hamas and Israeli officers are not even close to finalizing a ceasefire deal. Nicaragua complained to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) about Germany’s support to Israel. ICJ began two days of hearings about Germany’s supply aid to Gaza, while supplying arms to Israel. Nicaragua complained to order Berlin to halt military arms exports to Israel and reverse its decision to stop funding UNRWA (UN Palestinian refugee agency).
Arizona’s Supreme Court has ruled a law from 1864 which made abortion illegal can be enforced. The ruling will certainly be challenged, and opponents feel they have enough signatures to force a vote on it in November. Time will tell if the decision will stand.
Have a wonderful week. I’ll talk to you next week.
