Student Loan Crisis

Problems in the student loan market are not just harming students but are also exacerbating problems with the United States’ recovery from the Great Recession. New York Federal Reserve Bank data has found that outstanding student debt topped $1 trillion in the third quarter of 2013, and the share of loans delinquent 90 days or more rose to 11.8 percent. Furthermore, the share of 25-year-old Americans with student debt increased to 43 percent in 2012 from 25 percent in 2003, while the average loan balance rose 91 percent, to $20,326 from $10,649 (Gage and Lorin). More than 40 million Americans are in student loan debt and because of this, more than 40 million Americans are not able to stimulate the economy as they are not able to buy houses or cars, or start businesses or families (Applebaum). In Wisconsin alone, student loan debt has resulted in a loss of over $200 million annually from new car purchases, while also resulting in middle class households with student loan debt overwhelmingly renting homes instead of owning them (Vanegeren).

As a mother of four, a large number of the social problems described in the text can and does directly relate to myself, as well as, my family especially regarding the matter of education. However, the problem directly affecting my family and I is the emerging social problem of rising student loan debt. Student loan debt is a problem that has begun to seep into the very mainstream of society as more and more individuals attend college, especially those with great financial needs. Personally, I am lucky to say that I do not need to borrow money to attend IRSC which has been a major blessing that has allowed me to better my education. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about my husband, who graduated from Florida State University with student loan debts around $30,000 dollars. $30,000 dollars is a relatively average amount, according the Institute for College Access and Success(TICAS) 70% of college students graduate with student loan debt, with an average of $28,950. While this amount is overall average in our society, combined with the costs of raising four children, as well as, having only one working family member who makes a relatively low salary as a school teacher, it puts significant financial strain on my family. Rising student loan debt just doesn’t affect my family and I, it affects millions of Americans, especially those who are poor and cannot afford college. Rising student loan debt is a societal problem that is hampering millions of young Americans

Americans have amassed more than $1.3 trillion of student loan debt (Clements). A lot of graduates are postponing life events like having kids, buying a house, to deal with the debt. About 14% of student are in default. Default means failing to make payments on your loan as scheduled. Defaults usually results in larger loan balances. With this upcoming election, it 's crucial for candidates to address student loan debt and their solutions. As a potential voter, it’s important I select the candidate that will benefits me and get rid of my loan debt.

As of 2016, the average college graduate owes thirty-seven thousand dollars in loans (Glum). As a whole, Americans owe a grand total of 1.3 trillion dollars. These are figures that grow every year, and worse, the number of people who are defaulting on their payments grows as well. The issue of the student loan crisis is serious, which is why potential solutions are now being discussed. Presidential candidates for the election of 2016 have discussed solutions that range from Hillary Clinton’s debt-free college plan to Bernie Sanders’ free tuition plan funded by taxing Wall Street, while numerous scholars and business intellectuals have suggested amending the bankruptcy code to allow for discharging student loans as a solution to the crisis (Josuweit). In this essay, I will primarily discuss the numerous but limited ways amending the bankruptcy code can alleviate the crisis, and then I will offer alternate solutions to supplement the aforementioned solution.

The problem with today’s current level of student loans is that it causes so many people that took out loans to go into debt later on in their life. Now when the former students go into debt, it creates a domino effect. The students going into debt means that the government will be able to get their money paid back to them which causes the country to be buried in an even deeper hole of debt. The nation is currently over 20 trillion dollars in debt and student loan debt is more than 1.5 trillion dollars as well according to the United States Debt Clock as of November 2017. The issue of student loan debt needs to be addressed sooner rather than later to help the country gradually come out of debt. A start to help reduce the amount of debt in

In the United States, it is generally accepted that college (or any form of higher education for that matter) is a wise investment that each and every individual should strive for. Each and every year thousands of parents open college funds and future investment plans to ensure that once their child is of age he or she can participate in quality educational programs. While college attendance rates are at a positive all-time high, right behind it follows an astounding $1.3 trillion dollars in student loan debt. Let’s face it, college is expensive, and it’s only getting worse. Could the outstanding quantity of student loan debt be the next national crisis?

Key informant interviewee Natalia Abrams, stated that “this is a time where media and politicians are talking about student loan debt but they are only focusing on policy for the new college student, but there needs to be a policy for the 43 million existing borrowers.” There are two separate policy issues that need to be analyzed in order to address the student loan debt crisis. Research shows that there is a difference among default rates based on race and socio economic status. These differences left unchecked can wreak social and economic havoc on society. While student loan debt crisis may not be a crisis for all, the danger is the growing amount of debt that a significant fraction of borrowers are currently saddled with that is preventing

People who want nice cars, jacked-up trucks, enormous boats, and other items will not be able to

With the 2016 presidential election looming in the near future, the subject of student loan debt has become a major issue on the campaign trail. The national amount of student loan debt is 1.08 trillion dollars, with 11.5% of that amount in default or in 90+ day delinquent. To put that in perspective, total consumer debt at the end of 2013 was 11.52 trillion .(Forbes, 2014) According to an in class poll, only 7 students out of 169 students were completely confident in their knowledge of student loans. However, if we had lower tuition and expenses students wouldn’t have to take a loan out in the first place.

40 million Americans owe about $1.2 trillion in student loan debts and roughly 16 percent of those loan balances are in forbearances alone (Delisle). To start with, forbearances allows borrowers to relinquish a delinquency status and postpone payments for up to three years. With that in mind, a majority of borrowers initially believe that forbearances are a good thing because it allows them to have a leeway before they can make their next payment. However, I believe that forbearances are just one of the underlying problems of the student loan industry because it creates the illusion of a safety net. The victims of the industry come from varying backgrounds and PBS highlighted them in the documentary, “Default: The Student Loan Documentary.” Perhaps the most daunting part of the video is that most of the borrowers shown in the documentary are still dealing with these debts for decades now. Some of these borrowers are usually a paycheck away from being homeless or starved and they cling to these benefits as a way to postpone further damage. In fact, what actually happens is that interests still accrue during the forbearance period and people end up having higher monthly payments than they did before the period. Forbearances are just a part of a very profitable system that prioritizes profits over the welfare of the students. It does not even seem to be helping at all because as of 2015, over 7 million Americans are in default for not sending payments. This is an

There are several governmental issues facing the American people in this day in age. Many of these issues have come to the fore front during the Presidential Campaign of 2016. One of the most popular and important issues in the United States is student loans. Colleges are full of expensive fees such as tuition, textbooks, and room and board. Many college students can’t afford to pay all of these fees and are forced to take a student loan. However, the interest rates on student loans are rapidly increasing each year. This leaves many college graduates in the open world with great debt that takes a long time to pay off.

According to CNN, “Almost 19% of student loan borrowers owe more than $50,000.Only 6% of borrowers had that much in 2001.” (Gillispe, 1). Why has student loan debt increased so much? Student Loan debt has become a national problem with no solution. Many students are borrowing more money to keep up with the rising cost of tuition in universities, leaving themselves with thousands of debt after graduation. Students after gaining this debt, have to find jobs to support it which can come at a challenge after the financial crisis of 2008. So there stands a problem between students having massive amounts of loan debt and getting jobs to pay this debt off. Advocates or liberals think forgiving this debt is a good idea, while opponents or conservatives think it is not even an option. This essay will focus on the controversial topic of forgiving student loan debt and why something should be done about the massive debts graduates have. It is important to first look at the history of student loans and how the student loan crisis came about in order to understand the controversy.

Student loans are a very real issue in our society today. There are at least 1.26 trillion dollars of student loan debt in the United States alone. There are at least 44.2 million American students who have to pay off their student loans.

In the United States today, the number of students graduating college with student loan debt is quite astonishing. In the article titled, “How the $1.2 Trillion College Debt Crisis Is Crippling Students, Parents And The Economy”, we will examine and break down the student loan debt crisis by the numbers. Today, almost two-third’s of students graduating college are graduating with an average of $26,000 in debt. For most students, $26,000 is a lot of money when the average annual income for a first year graduate is only in the mid $40,000 a year range. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, student loan debt has reached a new milestone, crossing the $1.2 trillion mark (Denhart, 2013, Introduction, par. 2). With student loan debt levels

In the case of student loan debt crisis, radical change/action would be the act of rejecting what is usually sanctioned by society as a means of acquiring funds to pay for college and rejecting terms in which many currently default student loans were made. According to text, the Occupy movement first became educated on how the banking and collection systems deals with loans, the shelf life of loans held by banking systems, the banking and collection systems view of the debtor, the overall life cycle distressed debt and the true value of the transactions that occur between the banks and collection companies. Secondly, the movement delivered a public message concerning the debt crisis problem, which also included a realistic action plan on how