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This is what has always confused me about the student debt conversation. $25,000 is not a lot of debt. That's about what it cost to get a brand new Toyota Corol
by 35997279 3y ago
This is what has always confused me about the student debt conversation. $25,000 is not a lot of debt. That's about what it cost to get a brand new Toyota Corolla. On top of which, the terms of this debt is very favorable. PAYE, low interest rates (mind were 6.8%, which was outrageous at the time but now we're entering a more inflationary / normal interest rate world), and are termed for 20+ years.
There is also a lot of debt taken on by graduate students. To be clear, only around 30% of Americans overall have even a bachelor's degree. The need to take on graduate school debt just simply isn't there in the way the taking on debt for undergraduate is. So I think these numbers should break out graduate students, especially those who went into high-earning professions with credential gatekeepers, like medicine (law is debatable -- we've minted way too many lawyers).
- anonymouskimmer 3y agoTo be fair, I think those loans numbers are current balances, not original balances. So much of it represents originally larger balances that have now been paid down to less than $25k (while others represent balance increases due to capitalized-interest). Otherwise I agree with you. Grad-degree credentialism is a problem, especially in the STEM fields. Plenty of people, including some with student debt, can't afford a new Corolla (even ignoring the debt). They buy used.