Welcome to Thursday, December 23rd, gelatos and soft serves…

Biden is extending the pause on federally-held student loan payments for an additional 90 days.

This extension is a reversal of the Biden administration’s previous assertion that the previous extension of the repayment pause through January 31, 2022, would be the last extension of the pause.

Biden explained his latest extension in a statement which read in part:

“Now, while our jobs recovery is one of the strongest ever — with nearly 6 million jobs added this year, the fewest Americans filing for unemployment in more than 50 years, and overall unemployment at 4.2 percent — we know that millions of student loan borrowers are still coping with the impacts of the pandemic and need some more time before resuming payments.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) tweeted that Democrats’ repeated extensions of the student loan repayment pause are unfair to Americans who repaid their loans or didn’t take out federal student loans to pay for college but will ultimately pay the bill: 

“There’s no free lunch. Not requiring student loan repayment means the majority of Americans who paid their debt or never took loans will get stuck with a trillion-dollar tab.”

Do you agree with Biden’s latest extension of the student loan repayment pause?

Kellogg’s 11-Week Strike Ends After Workers Approve Contract

On Tuesday, Kellogg's workers who have been on strike for 11-weeks voted to ratify a new labor contract that will cover 1,400 employees.

President of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM), Anthony Shelton, congratulated their members on the deal:

“Our striking members at Kellogg’s ready-to-eat cereal production facilities courageously stood their ground and sacrificed so much in order to achieve a fair contract. This agreement makes gains and does not include any concessions,”

The five-year contract between workers and Kellogg's includes:

• Cost of living raises
• No permanent two-tier system
• Increase in the pension multiplier
• No plant shutdowns through October 2026

Workers will return to Kellogg's on Monday, December 27th.

Do you support labor strikes against large companies like Kellogg's?

Should ‘Grinch Bots’ Be Prohibited?

Democrats in Congress are pushing for legislation to ban the use of so-called “grinch bots": automated programs used by resellers during the holiday season to rapidly buy popular items online in bulk orders so that they can be resold at a substantial markup.

Grinch bots can wipe out a store’s entire inventory for a product and have thus prompted comparisons to the Dr. Seuss character who tried to steal Christmas. 

The Stopping Grinch Bots Act would make it illegal to use bot technology to sidestep website security measures or access control systems designed to enforce purchasing limits on online merchandise. 

Barry Brownstein, a professor emeritus of economics and leadership at the University of Baltimore, argued that grinch bots are a non-issue and unworthy of regulation because resellers serve a role in stabilizing prices like speculators do for commodities markets.

Do you support or oppose banning “grinch bots”?

All the Memes Fit to Post

And, In The End...

Stop any creatures from stirring in honor of "A Visit from St. Nicholas" ("'Twas the night before Christmas..."), which was published on this date in 1823.

—Josh Herman

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