Even by government standards, it is a colossally dumb idea: revoking someone's license to work as a way to get them to pay off their student loans. Yet many states do just that.
I am sure that numerous readers of this column have already seen articles about how the Trump Administration may make it easier to discharge student loans in bankruptcy. Many of us already know that student debt is extremely difficult to erase through bankruptcy. This, of course makes sense, since student loans are typically not backed by any type of collateral, so it seems reasonable that this debt would be difficult to discharge.
Forty-four million Americans hold a total of $1.3 trillion in student loan debt. According to the Federal Reserve, the average amount of debt held by student loan borrowers is $32,731, and the average monthly amount due is $393.
Of these borrowers, 19 percent are behind on their payments.
If you miss a payment on your federal student loans, you have 270 days to make a payment before your debt goes into default. More than 3,000 people default on their federal student loans every day.
If you have some extra cash at the end of the month and are carrying burdensome student loan debt, you might be considering paying down those loans early. But in some cases, it may be better to keep paying the loans according to your current payment schedule. Here are some examples of when it's smarter to put your money elsewhere.
How much debt do students graduate with in your state or at a particular college? Use the interactive map below and the other links on this page to explore those questions and more for the Class of 2017.
For more information about student debt by state and college, along with policy recommendations to reduce the burden of student debt, see our full report, Student Debt and the Class of 2017.
Click on a state for in-depth information, or select a state here:
The letters "CFPB" may not be much more than alphabet soup to your average student loan borrower. They stand for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new-ish federal agency — created in 2011 — with a unique mission and a big effect on student lenders and for-profit colleges accused of defrauding or otherwise mistreating Americans.
Students and their families have struggled to build their dreams on top of student debt. Since the start of the Great Recession, student loan debt in the United States has doubled, with every graduating class owing more for their college degree than the class before. More than 44 million people — or the population of 20 states combined — owe a total of $1.4 trillion (more than the nation’s credit card debt) for their college educations.
Even as the financial crisis and Great Recession receded, student debt began to mushroom, presenting a new credit dilemma for the U.S.
The explosive rise of student debt – from half a trillion in 2007 to $1.3 trillion in 2017 – has been blamed for holding back homeownership, for dampening discretionary spending throughout the economy, and for saddling young people with burdens they couldn’t appropriately evaluate or prepare for.
As lawmakers stare down the barrel of a potential trillion-dollar deficit, they’ve already started looking for ways to stanch the bleeding. The F-35 program, a trillion-dollar boondoggle of a weapons platform that only occasionally works, isn’t really on the table. Nor are the massive tax cuts that forged the present budget shortfall. No, where legislators intend to recoup some scratch is in capping access to federal student loans for graduate students.
HUG is NOT refinancing, consolidation, settlement or bankruptcy. It will not damage or freeze your credit. Our typical client will be debt-free in half the time or less, including mortgage, credit cards, student loans and other types of debt obligations, compared to their current schedule. Most clients will pay less than 3% interest over all.
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“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.”
– Mike Quigley
"Bankruptcy laws allow companies to smoothly reorganize, but not college graduates burdened by student loans."
– Robert Reich
"If we don't change direction soon, we'll end up where we're going."
– Irwin "Professor" Corey
"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood."
– Marie Curie
The road to success is always under construction
– Lily Tomlin
"There is scarcely anything that drags a person down like debt."
– P. T. Barnum
“This would be a much better world if more married couples were as deeply in love as they are in debt.”
