Student Loan Debt: A Bubble That Will Eventually Pop

…Student loan debt in America now ranks as the second-largest consumer debt category, trailing only mortgages…[and,] based on the latest data,…it isn’t about to end any time soon…

More than 44 million American student loan borrowers owe nearly $1.5 trillion, according to statistics compiled by Zack Friedman for an article published by Forbes.

• Students who graduated from college in 2017 left school with an average debt of $28,650, according to the Institute for College Access and Success.
• The vast majority of student loan borrowers owe less than $100,000, but 2.5 million Americans owe more than $100K, and 610,000 borrowers have run up more than $200,000 in student loan debt.

• …the average student loan borrower pays $351 per month to service those loans [which] creates a tremendous drag on the economy. Every dollar spent paying off loans is a dollar not available to buy houses, cars or put into savings. 
• a lot of these borrowers struggle to pay their bills.
  • A whopping 11.4% of aggregate student debt was 90+ days delinquent or in default in 2018 Q4.
  • Over $101 billion in student loans held by 5.1 million borrowers are in default (360-days delinquent).
  • Another 2.6 million borrowers are not paying on their loans because they have been granted temporary forbearance.

In a speech late last year, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos revealed just how significant the level of student debt has become, noting that it comes with “significant risk”…for our economy and our future.”

The student loan mess is yet another bubble created by government and, like all bubbles, it will eventually pop.

Editor’s note: The above excerpts* from the original article have been edited ([ ]), restructured and abridged (…) for a faster- and easier – read. Also note that this paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.

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*The author’s views and conclusions are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original article. Furthermore, the views, conclusions and any recommendations offered in this article are not to be construed as an endorsement of such by the editor.