It’s too bad that Uncle Sam ever got into the college-financing business. The feds have no constitutional authority to lend money to students (or anyone else) and millions of students have gotten themselves deeply in debt for education of dubious value. Easy federal loans were essential in fueling the “college for everyone” movement that has raised the cost and degraded the educational value of earning a degree.
Fall behind on your student loan payments, lose your job.
Few people realize that the loans they take out to pay for their education could eventually derail their careers. But in 19 states, government agencies can seize state-issued professional licenses from residents who default on their educational debts. Another state, South Dakota, suspends driver’s licenses, making it nearly impossible for people to get to work.
In 22 states, people who default on their student loans can have professional licenses suspended or revoked. The percentage of Americans who default on student loans has more than doubled since 2003.
Butch Dill/AP
Clementine Lindley says she had a great college experience, but if she had it to do over again, she probably wouldn't pick an expensive private school.
"I could actually buy a small home in Helena, Mont., with the amount of debt that I graduated with," she says.
Student-loan delinquencies surged last year, hitting consecutive records of $166.3 billion in the third quarter and $166.4 billion in the fourth.
Bloomberg calculated the dollar amounts from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s quarterly household-debt report, which includes only the total owed and the percentage delinquent at least 90 days or in default.
That percentage has remained around 11 percent since mid-2012, but the total increased to a record $1.46 trillion by December 2018, and unpaid student debt also rose to the highest ever.
Love & Money is a MarketWatch serieslooking at how our relationship with money impacts our relationships with signicant others, friends and family. Most parents wouldn’ttrade the experience of raising children for anything in the world.If only it weren’t so darn expensive. Between the medical bills, child care and college tuition, it’s a wonder parenting hasn’t gone theway ofthewet nurse. Fortunately,the government offers some fairly generous tax breaks to help ease the financial burden.
Parents are increasingly struggling to repay federal loans they’ve taken out to help cover their children’s college costs, according to newly released federal data.
The Parent Plus program allows parents to take out essentially uncapped amounts to cover college costs, regardless of the borrower’s income or ability to repay the loan. As the cost of college has risen, the program has become an increasingly critical workaround for families that max out on federal student loans and can’t pay the rest out of pocket.
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"If we don't change direction soon, we'll end up where we're going."
– Irwin "Professor" Corey
"Bankruptcy laws allow companies to smoothly reorganize, but not college graduates burdened by student loans."
– Robert Reich
“This would be a much better world if more married couples were as deeply in love as they are in debt.”
– Earl Wilson
"There is scarcely anything that drags a person down like debt."
– P. T. Barnum
The road to success is always under construction
– Lily Tomlin
"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood."
– Marie Curie
“What I would like to do... once I take care of all my kids' student loans, is buy a red 1965 Mustang and fully restore it.”
