Snapshot · The Daily
The federal government extended graduate student loans broadly in 2005–2006 with little underwriting, assuming advanced-degree holders were reliable credit risks who would out-earn their debt.
Where this was said
At 13:12 · chapter starts 9:30
The second plank of the new policy is an earnings test tied directly to outcomes. For undergraduate programs, alumni must earn more on average than same-state high school graduates aged 25–34, measured 4 years after graduation. Graduate programs face a parallel test: alumni must out-earn the median salary for bachelor's degree holders in the same age group. If a program fails this test in 2 out of 3 consecutive years, it loses access to federal student loans entirely — meaning students who want to enroll must find funding elsewhere. Ron Lieber, who has analyzed a dataset of more than 30,000 undergraduate majors, says religion degrees and fine arts programs at many schools are likely to fail. But he emphasizes that no consequences will materialize for at least 3 years, because of the rolling 2-of-3 structure. The underlying logic is blunt: if a degree doesn't put you ahead of a high school diploma in the labor market, what exactly has the federal government been subsidizing? [1] — Ron Lieber "Federal loans will be cut off from undergraduate programs whose graduates don't out-earn same-state high school graduates, measured 4 years…" 10:37
The Trump administration's new rules specifically call out NYU and USC — two schools in major blue cities — in the official Education Department fact sheet. Ron Lieber calls it '23% political,' but notes there has been genuine bipartisan frustration with the student loan system for years.
Federal loans will be cut off from undergraduate programs whose graduates don't out-earn same-state high school graduates, measured 4 years after graduation. Fail in 2 out of 3 years and the program is shut out of the federal loan system — potentially killing low-ROI degrees like religion and fine arts.
In 1980, the federal government started backing student loans because families were struggling with just a few thousand dollars in tuition. College attendance was lower, the borrowers seemed like safe risks, and the dollar volumes were small — so the government skipped the guardrails. Those guardrails never came back.
Undergraduate programs must show alumni earning more than same-state high school graduates aged 25–34, measured 4 years after graduation, or risk losing federal loan eligibility.
Joel de la Garza noted that the CISO role is a relatively recent invention, with Steve Katz widely credited as the first-ever CISO.
Superficial adoption of electricity gave factories only 6% efficiency gains; fully redesigning factories around it delivered a 3x productivity improvement that powered 20th-century US growth.
Harold Ramis recounted that during Caddyshack filming, storms kept the cast cooped up in a Florida hotel for days, during which they partied and did drugs all day and night.
In the 1820s, China accounted for 25% of global economic output, making it the world's largest economic machine — a historical precedent for its current AI superpower ambitions.
66 Americans held hostage at the US Embassy in Iran were released after 444 days, within hours of Reagan's inauguration.
In the first round of the secret arms deal, 508 TOW missiles were transferred from Israel to Iran in exchange for hostage releases.
America secretly transferred 2,000 missiles and missile parts to Iran across 8 separate shipments over just over a year.
Despite all the missile sales, only 3 of the 7 American hostages held by Lebanese terrorists were ultimately released.
The CIA supply plane that blew open the scandal was flying at only 2,500 feet in broad daylight when it was shot down on October 5, 1986.
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