Bad financial decisions are nothing new. People are constantly getting loans for things they can't afford like homes, cars, credit card debt and so on. I used

Bad financial decisions are nothing new. People are constantly getting loans for things they can't afford like homes, cars, credit card debt and so on. I used to feel the same way as you. But we need to stop loading young adults with debt that can never be dismissed. Young adults are easy prey. Student's are for the most part clueless on what it means to be in debt without being able to pay for it. Mostly student's are desperate to afford their dream school or study for the one profession that will increase their pay check and are willing to sign a simple contract to get it. Luckily some of us know early on that we must get trained in a marketable skill to pay back the loan. Greek studies or French literature will not cut it these days. Not all of us are that lucky to know it. We need to look at the lenders and schools too. They don't care who they lend to because they have a guaranteed repayment. This leads to predatory lending for lenders. Schools don't care what they teach. This leads to nice to know classes. They will always find student dreamers that will major in (name you silly major here.) The supply and demand curve has gotten out of wack. Maybe only certain majors and schools can be eligible for loans as a start. Also, how is it that a student can go to school from K-12 and not have a skill. High schools need to be responsible too. I took a year of Calculus in high school. It's nice to know it yet it has not lead to a pay check. I'm sure there are other more productive ways to spend a year of school. Indebted students are a symptom of the bigger problem on how to train society's future workers. It's time to do something about it. Debt forgiveness and a reform to the educational system is a great place to start. BTW, free higher education is not the answer. Look at what happens to the K-12 graduates. Free higher education will only extend that system without much results. Yes, student's are stupid and it sucks that some will get a free ride but they are only a part of a bigger problem. We need to look at the problem more broadly.