5SR - February 8, 2024

Hitha on student loan repayment match, a pulse check on American political discourse, and how to network effectively

Author

Hitha Palepu
February 08, 2024

Today’s curator is the founder of #5SmartReads, Hitha Palepu. She’s a consummate multihyphenate - CEO of Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals, author of WE’RE SPEAKING: The Life Lessons of Kamala Harris and How to Pack: Travel Smart for Any Trip, and professional speaker. Hitha is an unabashed fan of Taco Bell, Philadelphia sports teams & F1, romance novels, and is a mediocre crafter. She lives in NYC with her husband and two sons.

Did you know your employer can match your student loan repayments as 401(k) contributions?

“When someone makes a student loan payment, their employer can contribute that same amount of money to the employee’s retirement plan under Section 110 of a federal law known as the SECURE Act 2.0. The policy, which stands for Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement, “permits an employer to make matching contributions under a 401(k) plan, 403(b) plan, or SIMPLE IRA with respect to ‘qualified student loan payments.’””

While this is limited to employers who offer a 401(k)/403(b)/SIMPLE IRA match, it poises to make a significant impact, especially for women. Approximately 60% of women with bachelor’s degrees have federal student loans, compared to about 50% of men with the same degree. Black women, on average, have the highest amount of debt - $29,051 - than other groups of women.

If your employer offers a retirement match and you are currently paying off student loans, I urge you to look into this and see if it’s a match (pun intended) for you.

I consider myself someone who’s reasonably online, but I’m still trying to understand the Sofia Richie Grainge effect. Michelle Santiago Cortés does a great job of breaking down Richie Grainge’s rise to social stardom, but also the impact of her wedding/wifedom/expecting motherhood has on society.

And because my brain just works in this week, I wonder how her increasing social influence has indirectly boosted the rise of #tradwife content and discourse online and offline.

My view of feminism is celebrating the choices each of us have to live our lives in the way that work for us. “Good for you, may not be for me but I’m happy it’s for you!” is the energy I’m bringing. I’m cognizant of separating a person from their online brand, and taking care to direct any commentary on the brand when talking about the various trends amplified by women creators, and the creators themselves. I also am critical of various trends or movements that make claims that their way is the solution to the issues so many women face (pay disparity, a lack of care support with expectations to deliver care, no guaranteed paid leave or social support), and how content drives the simplistic, singular message in some of these trends.

Cortés unpacks this so articulately in this really thoughtful piece, far better than I could.

I have a tradition of re-watching my favorite West Wing episodes in the months leading to a presidential election.

I started this tradition early this year, and I’m fairly depressed at how far we’ve departed from Sorkin’s fast-talking, fast-walking idealistic view of our executive branch. Instead, we live in the tragic Venn Diagram overlap of Veep, House of Cards, and American War (a devastating novel that reads closer to nonfiction every election).

This report is 5 years old - predating the January 6th insurrection and everything that’s followed. That we’ve doubled down on the toxic discourse and intense animosity is frightening. But with so much on the line this election (which very well could be the last fair and free election we have, if Project 2025 is implemented), bowing out completely isn’t an option.

Here’s how I’m practicing citizenship this election while preserving my peace:

  • only reading my news. I’m avoiding podcasts, cable news, YouTube clips from news networks, and social media for news consumption. Limiting my intake to a specific medium that doesn’t trigger me the way the others do has helped me stay informed with minimal triggering.

  • avoiding bad faith conversations that lead nowhere. If someone has their mind made up about the election, I actively avoid political discussions to preserve my peace.

  • signing up to be a poll worker (influenced by Ashley Spivey). I can’t think of a better way to participate in the democratic process than by actually participating and helping run a smooth election.

  • reading and recommending Democracy in Retrograde, Emily Amick and Sami Sage’s forthcoming book on how to practice citizenship more effectively. That it’s being released on my birthday is even better - please preorder it!

Will I donate? Yes - but not to a specific candidate or PAC because the text and email solicitations are getting out of control…

Whatever donations I make, from here on out, will be on Oath.

First and foremost, if you’re not following Brian Derrick, please do. And then come back.

That I’m a Democrat comes to no surprise to anyone here, which is reflected in my donation history. I’m also a pragmatist and want to donate to campaigns and races that actually need my donation, and I don’t want to be constantly texting “STOP” to the influx of messages that flood my phone at the end of every month and quarter.

That’s exactly what Oath does.

“…what Oath can do which is really different — what I don’t see happening in the political ecosystem — is offer a brake pedal on fundraising for a candidate or a campaign. Because once these candidates sort of take off and go viral, you have an example like [now-Sen. Raphael] Warnock in Georgia, in a very competitive race, with really high stakes where whoever wins is likely to win the Senate. But he is so far outraising his opponent that, by our calculation, additional dollars are unlikely to meaningfully change the outcome of the race. And there’s no one really in the ecosystem saying, “Enough is enough. A hundred million [dollars] is more than enough.” So we would rate that race as a really low impact score, where more dollars are not meaningfully likely to make a difference. And we hope that that signals to our donors that their dollars are better used elsewhere.”

Most importantly, Oath doesn’t sell your personal information to campaigns, thus minimizing the flood of texts and emails you get from candidates you may have never heard of.

Upasna Gautam offers the advice everyone should follow when building relationships with people they admire in this actionable essay.

And if you’re on the receiving end of the “can I pick your brain?” question, I’d love to offer my e-mail script that I send in response to these queries:

Hi there! I appreciate your reaching out. While I don’t have bandwidth to meet for coffee or a Zoom, I’m happy to direct you to my resources that will likely answer your questions:

  • Here’s a playlist of all the podcast interviews I’ve given, where I’ve shared my story or offered my perspective on a number of topics.

  • I’ve distilled my best advice (both professional and personal) in this book.

  • I offer a limited number of 1:1 consulting sessions. You can find my rates and booking information here.

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