An Argument for Full Student Debt Cancellation

Plus an example of when climate policy works, what to know about the SALT deduction, and new Brookings books.

View in browser June 26, 2021 Student loans, the racial wealth divide, and why we need full student debt cancellation   Because a college degree does not achieve income parity for Black workers, the disproportionate debt Black students take on to finance their education is reinforcing the racial wealth gap. Andre Perry, Marshall Steinbaum, and Carl Romer argue that racial inequality should not be ignored in the student debt debate and that policies around cancellation should take wealth, not income, into account.   Read more   Join us for a webinar on Monday about student debt cancellation, featuring a keynote address from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.  When climate policy works: HFCs and the case of short-lived climate pollutants   As the world prepares for the critically important COP26 Summit in Glasgow this year, the United States' work on curtailing the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) through the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act should be celebrated as a rare and bipartisan triumph, says Barry Rabe.   Read more The 8 arguments for restoring the SALT deduction, and why they're all wrong   Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders is proposing to partially revive the federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT). Richard Reeves and Christopher Pulliam believe this is a mistake, writing that any relaxation of the cap will necessarily benefit people towards the top of the income ladder.    Read more New Brookings books to check out Global China Edited by Tarun Chhabra, Rush Doshi, Ryan Hass, and Emilie Kimball   The culmination of a two-year Brookings project, "Global China" provides the most current, broad-scope, and fact-based assessment of the implications of China's rise for the United States and the world.   More on the book The Constitution of Knowledge By Jonathan Rauch   Disinformation, trolling, conspiracies, social media pile-ons, and campus intolerance are driving an epistemic crisis, Jonathan Rauch argues. His new book provides a sweeping and readable description of how every American can help defend truth.   More on the book Help support Brookings with a donation   Brookings is committed to making its high-quality, independent policy research free to the public. Please consider making a contribution today to our Annual Fund to support our experts' work. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brookings Institution campus in Washington, D.C. is currently closed and all events are virtual only. For more information on the Institution's response, read our full guidance here. The Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 Unsubscribe Manage your newsletter preferences | Receive the Brookings Brief less often