Tuesday's Assorted Links
Student loan debt, ChatGPT Edu, Amazon, egg quotas, and foreign aid spending
Hi y’all! Here are five stories from this week that contained some neat applications of economic principles or are related to teaching:
Americans owed around $1.64 trillion in federal student loan debt at the close of 2024, up from $1.59 trillion in January 2021 despite historic forgiveness [CNBC]
OpenAI partnered with the California State University system to bring ChatGPT Edu, an education-focused version of the chatbot, to students and staff across 23 campuses [OpenAI]
Amazon set to pass Walmart in revenue for first time [Quartz]
Trader Joe’s and Costco are limiting egg sales amid nationwide shortage [Food & Wine]
Visualizing the scope of US foreign aid spending [The Washington Post]
Tariffs don’t just raise the price of things we import—the retaliation also hurts U.S. exports. Canada and Mexico buy over 30% of U.S. exports. When the U.S. imposes tariffs, other countries respond, making it harder for American businesses to sell abroad.
Tariffs, Trade, and What We Often Forget About U.S. Exports
One of my earliest memories of family vacations was a visit to Ciudad Juárez, just across the border from El Paso, Texas. I still have a Mexican blanket from that trip, a small but constant reminder that international trade is a common part of our lives. I bought that blanket as an import—something made in another country and brought into the U.S. Over …
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"forgiveness"
I do not think that word means what everyone thinks it means
Rising student loan debt is a problem with multiple causes, but loan debt cancellation creates a moral hazard that encourages further borrowing. Who doesn’t like free money?