In the United States, current student loan debt is over $ 1,200,000,000,000, and that number is increasing every day. It goes without saying that if you are one of those unfortunate brains burdened with a ton of student loan debt, you are far from alone. Many people now wonder if they made the right decision about pursuing higher education because of the high payments they face directly upon graduation.
One argument is that you can never go wrong with an education because an uneducated population will cost more in the long run. While the argument cannot be dismissed entirely, the other argument is simply: do the costs of higher education outweigh the benefits? So you have to ask yourself: how does this amount of debt affect everyday life in the United States? Much more than you think.
Here’s a more detailed look at why the current student debt crisis is important to everyone, including you.
A major national problem
When a student graduates with a staggering amount of student loans, a few things can happen.
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That person cannot move out on their own.
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That person cannot start a family.
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That person begins work that (probably) does not begin to cover that debt.
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That person could fall behind on payments quickly.
This often leads to a state of default, and a default does even more damage, potentially even ruining a person’s credit for a long time, even for life. Once a person’s credit is ruined, the following happens:
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That person cannot buy things like a car or a house.
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That person is not yet living independently.
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That person cannot yet start a family with any sense of security.
Why does none of this matter? Here’s an additional breakdown of why student loan debt is out of control.
Impacting our economy
When recent graduates don’t buy houses and start families, the economy (at a very basic level) doesn’t grow. So many graduates are leaving school with so much debt that the very things that used to help the economy grow are now becoming obsolete.
To make matters worse, these graduates often end up defaulting on loans simply because most of the jobs offered after graduation don’t pay enough to pay off student loan debt. It is a vicious circle. The fear is that the American Dream is dying before our eyes. So, we can redefine the American dream or we can begin to grapple with the reality of student loans.
