Generation Debt

Ah yes, that's how March comes in, roaring with student loan news:

-There are quite a few stories about Generation Debt lately, bemoaning the fact that students are stuck in debt for life, but not particularly calling for any specific action or relief: Carolina News 14 ("with some students in for the long haul, financial experts say we may see a generation that is perpetually in debt"), the Globe Gazette ("[t]hirty-four percent of those graduating from college with debt have sold possessions to make ends meet, according to a recent survey conducted by AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. Forty-two percent of those surveyed said they live paycheck to paycheck, and 27 percent reported they delayed getting a medical or dental procedure done because of their debt"), the Kansas City Star ("it’s time for older generations to realize that things are different. School costs are rising quicker than salaries can keep up. Social Security will be dried up when we need it. Pensions will be read about in history books. The retirement age is creeping toward never"), WFIR 23 News, and the Harvard Crimson ("What concerns us is that not enough of you, at Harvard and elsewhere, will spend your twenties and thirties doing the vibrant and vital work required of every rising generation to advance civilization—be it teaching, producing great works of art, challenging injustice, or defending our nation—simply because these jobs do not pay enough").

-Congress has started moving on legislation to "require banks and other lenders to compete for the right to make federally guaranteed student loans, with the goal of identifying those who could offer the loans at rates that would cost the government the least, and using the savings for other efforts to make college more affordable for students." More here, here, and here. Inside Higher Ed brings up the problem (at least from our point of view) with the legislation: "the House-passed legislation provides no help for the millions of borrowers who are currently having trouble repaying their loans because of high debt levels and/or low incomes. It would have been much better if the House had sought to help these borrowers, for example, by allowing them to consolidate all their federal student loans into a single loan repayment schedule when they leave school and begin repayment. This expansion of existing consolidation provisions would greatly simplify the student loan system by allowing borrowers to refinance their student loans once they leave school." Some people don't want to help graduates, though, or students.

-Possible student loan relief for Kentucky public interest lawyers and Arizona teachers. But the Roanoke Times advises against using home equity to pay of college debt.

-Some folks are suspicious of the relationships between schools and lenders, according to the Business Week.

-Alan Collinge of Student Loan Justice editorializes on student loan abuses, mostly by Sallie Mae, and Today's TMJ 4 investigates predatory student lenders, including Sallie Mae. Check out more interesting Sallie Mae news here, here, here, and here (after reading some of that, I think Al Lord might want to have a chat with Martha Stewart about his stock practices).

-The United Graduate Debt Program offers some different solutions to the problem of student debt.

National Student Loan Debt Clock: $462 billion - just keeps springing forward.