💙Get Well Soon, Maui

Good morning. This is your annual reminder to stop buying new iPhones in August.

Since 2007, when the first iPhone was released, Apple has announced their next-gen iPhone model in September, just enough time to boost Q4 earnings. Assuming this year follows that trend, we recommend finally using that new year’s resolution to “practice patience” and avoid buyer’s remorse when the new model is announced next month, devaluing older phones and giving cool tech to the new. Possible new features per model:

iPhone 15 / 15 Plus: Dynamic Island (replacing notch), USB-C Port, A16 Chip, 48MP wide camera, + more.

iPhone 15 Pro / 15 Pro Max: Titanium body, thinner bezels, Action Button (replacing mute switch), USB-C port, A17 chip, periscope lens for increased optical zoom (15 Pro Max only).

_{-Bailey Hepler}

REFERRAL PROGRAM

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MAUI WILDFIRES

Rising Frustration Over Lack of Government Aid for Maui Wildfires

The deadliest American wildfire in more than a century, killing 101 and destroying 2,200 buildings, has left the town of Lahaina with over $5B in damages, no internet, and a scarcity of hot food. As Hawaiian locals mourn the loss of loved ones and businesses, there is increasing frustration as they notice more help from a network of volunteers than their own government.

Locals told the NYT the scattered fire warnings were insufficient and the government’s (state & federal) response has been a failure that hasn’t met their overwhelming, urgent needs.

Government’s Response:

• Government Officials defend, claiming Maui’s remoteness caused delay in relief aid, saying they’ve known it would take at least 72 hours if something ever happened in Maui.

• Biden Administration asks Congress for $24B in additional Ukraine assistance two days after Maui wildfires, leaving Americans confused about the President’s priorities.

• As of Tuesday, the Administration has provided 50,000 meals, 75,000 liters of water, 5,000 cots, and 10,000 blankets by 300 Federal Emergency Management Agency workers on the ground.

🌴Symbol of Hope

If you’ve visited the town of Lahaina, you’ve likely seen one of the most remarkable landmarks the Hawaiian islands have to offer. Located downtown, a banyan tree has provided nearly two-thirds acres of shade for weary travelers for the past 150 years, when it was planted as a gift in 1873 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of first American Protestant mission. The devastating Maui wildfires ravaged the town of Lahaina and smoldered the treasured banyan tree, leaving its trunks charred and leaves covered in ash, but many experts say there’s hope for its survival.

Kimberly Flook, deputy executive director for the Lahaina Restoration Foundation expressed hope, “A tree that’s gone through a fire that has even partial viable material can survive,” Flook said. As Maui’s community comes together to rebuild, the banyan’s survival would be a symbol of hope for the town’s restructure.

🔗Links to Donate

• American Red Cross is working around the clock to help those affected by the wildfires in Maui. Donate by visiting their website, call 1-800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767), or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

• Hawaii Community Foundation is accepting donations through its Maui Strong Fund which has already raised $1M for fire victims.

• Maui United Way works to address Maui's vital needs by focusing on education, income and health. They have set up a Maui and Disaster Relief Donations Page.

• Maui Food Bank aims to provide “safe and nutritious food” to anyone in Maui County who’s at the risk of going hungry. You can donate through the food bank’s website.

STUDENT LOAN FOREGIVENESS

Student-loan Relief for 800k Borrowers - do you qualify?

In what seemed like a 2 ½ year-long game of hot potato between the Supreme Court and President Biden, student-loan forgiveness is set to begin this week. The Education Department will begin their one-time account adjustment totaling $39 billion of debt forgiveness for 804,000 borrowers.

Here’s the full list of requirements if you want to qualify (sorry most Millennials & Gen Z):

• Your loan must be a direct federal loan or FFEL loan held by the Education Department. If your loan is commercially held, you can apply for Direct Consolidation Loan here by the end of 2023.

• Borrowers need to make payments this long before relief:

  • Parent PLUS loans: 25 years, or 300 months of payments

  • Undergraduate loans: 20 years, or 240 months of payments

  • Graduate loans enrolled in the PAYE repayment plan: 20 years, or 240 months of payments

  • Graduated loans not enrolled in PAYE: 25 years, or 300 months of payments.

🤷‍♂️4 reasons we maybe don’t want loans forgiven:

Student-loan forgiveness is one of those topics at Thanksgiving you dread Uncle Buck sniffing an opinion about. Emotions get testy and experts come out of peanut gallery to discuss how unfair it is that other’s don’t get the debt relief. And Buck is right, but let’s discuss.

1. Student-loan relief is disproportionate for the higher educated. Lifetime earnings for an associates degree is $400k, bachelor’s $1.2m, master’s $1.6m, doctoral $2.4m. Higher borrowers will receive a bigger piece of the $39b budget pie while they still gain higher earnings.

2. Higher-income people are more likely to borrow (and borrow more) than lower-income people. Biden proposed $10k of relief with an income cap of $150,000 individually and $300,000 for joint filers. When split into two income quintiles, experts noticed lower quintile gets $33.8b of forgiveness, while the higher gets $54.3b.

3. Taxpayer’s take a major hit. The $10k relief plan above would cost tax payers $260b, while $50k per borrower would cost tax payers $1t. Forgiving the whole amount? $1.6t

4. Even more tuition inflation. Research shows that aid fuels tuition inflation, as colleges nor students believe future loans would have to be repaid.

JUST ANOTHER TRUMP INDICTMENT

President Trump indicted in Georgia on RICO Charges

Former President Trump was indicted on bond-villain type charges in Georgia on Monday. The 41-counts include RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization) charges for “orchestrating a criminal enterprise” to reverse the results of the 2020 election.

This is the fourth indictment on the former president, including a federal indictment earlier this month. But there’s a crucial difference between a state and federal indictment; if Mr. Trump regained presidency, the prosecutors in Georgia would not report to him and if convicted, he wouldn’t have power to pardon himself.

President Trump has until August 25th at noon to surrender himself to the authorities in Fulton County, Georgia. As luck would have it, the first republican debate is August 23rd.

The Georgia indictment describes 8 ways Former President Trump along with 18 other defendants obstructed the election:

1. By lying to the Georgia state legislature

2. Lying to state officials

3. Creating fake pro-Trump electors

4. Harassing election workers

5. Soliciting Justice Department officials

6. Soliciting Vice President Mike Pence

7. Breaching voting machines

8. Engaging in a cover-up

As of August 2nd, FiveThirtyEight reports that Trump leads the Republican candidacy at 52.7%, Ron DeSantis at 14.8%, Vivek Ramaswamy at 7.5%, Mike Pence at 6.9%.

The Democratic candidacy is lead by President Joe Biden at 63.8% and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at 15.2%.

POLICY

LA County Flash Mob Totaled $400k in Stolen Goods

Picture this: you’re at Starbucks on your day off when you get a text from your boss saying they “need extra help since the store is unusually busy today”. Against your better judgement, you oblige, only to walk in to a flash mob of thieves. That’s becoming the norm in Los Angeles as the second flash mob in two weeks hits another high-end retailer at the Nordstrom in Canoga Park, California.

A gang of 50 looters, wearing hoodies and facemasks rampaged the Nordstrom, attacking security guards reportedly with bear spray, before escaping with up to $100k worth of merchandise. Two weeks ago, 30-40 looters hit the Yves Saint Laurent store in Glendale, California, for an estimated $300k in stolen goods.

📜What Can Be Done?

Walmart CEO, Doug McMillon, says consequences will trickle down to consumers if shoplifters aren’t prosecuted. Consequences include higher prices and store closures, in turn reducing job availability.

There are 2 primary laws combatting organized theft:

• Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) proposes stiffer penalties for theft offenses and calls for a change in the threshold prosecutors must meet before bringing federal theft cases.

• Inform Act requires online marketplaces (eBay & Amazon specifically) to disclose the identities of certain high-volume sellers to deter the sale of stolen goods.

The map below highlights the 9 states that have recently passed organized retail crime legislation, and the 6 states considering. I don’t know about you, but California in the grey is alarming. Given the mass lootings in Los Angeles, how long until targeted retailers pull out of the state entirely?

THURSDAY SHORTS

• 🌵Two entrepreneurs create leather out of cactus, saving 1 billion animals killed for fashion. You can buy Desserto here.

• 🏈Former NFL player and subject of The Blind Side, Michael Oher, claims that Sean and Leigh Ann Tuohy tricked him into conservatorship to enrich themselves, never adopting him.

• 🎟Available on Netflix: Down To Love, a heartwarming reality show following the dating lives of people with down syndrome.

• 🥊Mark Zuckerberg ends talks of fighting fellow billionaire Elon Musk following silence from Elon’s side. “I think we can all agree Elon isn’t serious and it’s time to move on.”

• 🐦A resilient bird species, the Aldabra rail, that went extinct 136,000 years ago has “re-evolved” back into existence.