Student loan debt has surpassed $1.6 trillion in the United States. This is greater than the total U.S. debt load for credit cards and auto loans combined — and this has never happened before.
In terms of consumer loans, student debt is exceeded only by mortgage debt. But the two aren’t comparable. Unlike your home, you can’t rent out or sell your degree if your finances get tough. And there’s no student-loan equivalent of foreclosure to wipe your debt clean in the worst-case scenario.
I’d like to do more volunteer work, but I have two jobs just to keep up with my student loan payments.
— Sarah B.
Hopefully one day I can start my business idea. I love entrepreneurship. But right now I can’t take the risk because of my student loan.
— Aaron S.
I’m falling behind on my student loans badly because I need to take care of my mom. What am I supposed to do? I can’t put my student loan over my mom’s health.
— Priya N.
The weight of this debt is crushing. College grads — averaging around $30,000 just in student loan debt — are sometimes unable to find jobs with salaries that cover their loan payments and cost of living. They aren’t able to buy into home ownership. They aren’t able to get married and start families. And they can’t freely explore career options due to the need to earn a certain minimum to cover their loans.
Many student debtors in their 40s and 50s see no end and believe they will die with their debt.
This is an issue affecting people of all ages, races, religious beliefs, and political preferences in every state in the country.
But there’s good news! We have an idea that can make a difference. It can turn around the lives of the people in the most dire of college-debt situations.
It’s an idea that hasn’t been tried.
And we’re changing that now — read our solution.
A deeper dive…
For many, there’s no way out. Too many college grads fall into situations in which they can’t make their payments or need to make smaller payments — which causes the interest to pile up, ballooning what might’ve been a reasonable debt into something monstrous. And there’s literally no light at the end of the tunnel, because the final safety net — bankruptcy — is not an option for student loans except in extremely rare situations.
And there is a hidden toll. Research has demonstrated that financial difficulties lead to significant stress. If you’ve ever been in a serious money bind, you probably don’t need research to prove this to you. But the evidence is there. And of course, stress is the leading cause or aggravator of most health problems. Too little is known right now about how college debt may be affecting people’s health, but we suspect there is a correlation, and we will seek to research it.
It’s easy to shrug this all off as a personal irresponsibility. We can simply say these people made bad choices and managed their money poorly — and for some this is certainly true. But too many college grads were told (and sold) how necessary and important it is to get a degree, while being pushed into easy-access loans for more money than they could comprehend at that age. Universities and colleges, meanwhile, keep increasing tuition because this loan money is pouring in — and it’s not their debt to pay back. We are not against higher education; a college or university degree is still a solid investment for most people. What we’re against is the way that financial motives have corrupted the system, leaving students holding the bag. We have Big Oil, Big Pharma, and now we have Big Education . . . “Big Ed.”
Plus, everyone is vulnerable to life’s unexpected changes and challenges. Many people took on student debt and were paying it back on time — only to later face sudden medical, family, or work problems. The expenses associated with these can send even the most responsible person into a financial tailspin.
As a society, we can’t ignore this problem. The college grad who’s saddled with debt can’t contribute her highest good to her community. The would-be entrepreneur with a great idea can’t risk the leap to start, because he has a $500 student-loan payment each month. The young woman who’d volunteer to read to the blind can’t, because she has to work two jobs. And the spending power these college grads would otherwise have, which fuels our economy, is severely cut down because their discretionary income is minimal.
But we’re here to fix this! Read our solution.