Seemingly everyone is coming out with lists to capture aspects of the past decade. And the pile of student debt is no exception.
At the start of the 2010s, American student debt totaled $772 billion; at the dawn of 2020, that total had reached a stunning $1.6 trillion. It more than doubled — in a decade.
Not surprisingly, this has overturned the lifestyles of many Americans, especially Millennials. While it’s inarguable that these college degrees have led to better earning power for most people, the downside is that a lot of that earning power is tied up in loan repayments. (We’ll save the compounding factor of wage stagnation over the past decade for another post.)
The result is an unprecedented downward economic pressure that’s resulting in delays in home buying, marriages, having children, starting businesses, investing, saving, and many other economy-positive activities. In other words, student loan payments are sucking up a huge amount of discretionary income.
As CNBC recently reported, student debt became a defining feature of the 2010s in America.
We hope you’ll join us in turning things around to make the 2020s better.