A Monthly Wrap Up of September

September flew by, with social events like the Met Gala and the MTV Video Music Awards, as well as political debates about raising taxes. This month's wrap-up covers everything you need to know about September 2021, a month to go down in the history books.

The Met Gala: One of the most exclusive social events of the year, the Met Gala is usually filled with famous figures and stunning fashion. The Met Gala is usually held in May, but because of COVID-19 restrictions this year, it was postponed until September 13th. It also had a smaller gathering this year and enforced face masks when indoors, except for when eating and drinking. The theme this year was American Independence, and celebrities decided to go all out from Billie Eilish’s Old Hollywood-themed gown to Lil Nas X’s 3 all gold outfits. But Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decided to take the theme as an opportunity to make a powerful statement. She wore an all-white dress with the saying, “tax the rich" in red on the back, which she immediately received backlash for. Many people criticized her for her clothing choices, when she was at perhaps one of the most blatant displays of wealth, instead of outside with the protesters in front of the Met. Others came to her defense saying that her dress was to make a statement to the people who need to hear it most. Many people were also mad because according to them, she was also one of the rich, seeing as she could afford an event that costs 30,000 dollars to attend and maybe, even more, to dress up for. However, because AOC is a New York government official, she was automatically invited to attend and she posted in a tweet that the dress was borrowed. No matter what your opinion is, you can’t deny that it definitely got people talking.

The MTV VMAs: The VMA’s also happened in September, just a day before the Met Gala, making it a busy week! This year’s VMA’s were hosted by Doja Cat - who won Best Art Direction and Best Collaboration. Olivia Rodrigo, a rising star in pop music, won Song of the Year for drivers license, and Best New Artist. Lil Nas X also had 5 nominations and won Best Visual Effects, Best Direction, and Video of the Year. Justin Bieber won Artist of the Year and Best Pop and BTS won Best Group for the 3rd year in a row.

To Raise or Not to Raise?: If you’ve looked on the news recently, you’ve probably heard something about “raising the debt ceiling” which, to be honest, kind of sounds like a new dance move. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with dancing. The debt ceiling is essentially a limit placed by Congress. on how much money the government can borrow to pay off its debt. Other countries also have their version of a debt limit, but it’s set so high that it’s usually not bothered with. The U.S’s current debt amount is 28.43 trillion, but the debt limit is set at 28.43 trillion currently. Raising the debt ceiling has caused much controversy between Republicans and Democrats, with Democrats wanting to raise the debt ceiling and Republicans to lower it. The debt limit was technically reached in July 2019, but Congress agreed to a two year extension. Well, it’s been two years and it seems that Congress is still unsure on whether or not to raise it. Democrats say that it’s unfair to make one political party raise the limit on their own. Technically they do have the power to raise it unilaterally, it would just be more time consuming.