Generation Debt

As the days of August swelter on, there's still plenty of student loan news to report. While many in the media are focused on those students just starting out on their debt journey, there are still some that remember the borrowers who are already stuck in it for the long haul. And so we trudge on...

-Not content with sticking it to college students, our friends at Sallie Mae now offer loans for parents for K-12 private schools. Just like the tobacco industry, the student loan lending industry likes to hook 'em young.

-Alan Collinge of Student Loan Justice writes about Sallie Mae's march toward monopolizing the student loan industry.

-More on the student loan scandals from ABC News, the Brandenton Herald, CBS News, Inside Higher Ed, The Daily, and the Washington Post.

-New legislation and potential legislation in Congress may help some or hurt some, reports Inside Higher Ed (also here), the New America Foundation, CQ, the Chicago Sun-Times (also here), the Washington Post letters page, MTV, the Earth Times, US News, NPR, AM New York, News and Tribune, the Post Crescent, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the St. Petersburg Times, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Springfield News Leader.

-The stories on student debt in general are still coming out, too, such as these in The Nation, the San Francisco Gate, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Omaha World-Herald, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

-One group, the Business and Media Institute, claims that the media are picking on the poor lenders in their news portrayals, mentioning the demonization of lenders and a victimization theme when it comes to borrowers.

Student Loan Debt Clock: $487 billion and ticking away more every second.

Pic via Pandagon.