Student Loans: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

()

Student Loan Debt Crisis in the US

Over 43 million Americans have student loans totaling $1.7 trillion in debt.
The student loan program has expanded significantly over the years, with key expansions by presidents such as LBJ, Nixon, and Clinton.
The cost of college has steadily increased, with the average net cost of attendance for in-state students at public schools now around $20,000 per year.
States have been slashing funding for public colleges and universities, leading to increased tuition and fees.
Many public universities have responded by ramping up spending on amenities to lure out-of-state and international students, who pay higher tuition rates.

Many students take on large amounts of debt without fully understanding the consequences.
Student loans can make it difficult to plan for the future, such as having children.
The burden of student debt disproportionately affects certain groups, such as those from low-income families and borrowers with smaller debt amounts.
Parent PLUS loans allow parents to take out student loans on their child's behalf, but these loans are risky and can lead to retirees being saddled with debt.
Student loans are extremely difficult to discharge through bankruptcy.
Student loan services often make it difficult for borrowers to navigate the system and access programs that can ease the burden of debt.

The student loan forgiveness program has a 99% denial rate due to complicated mechanics and servicers steering borrowers into forbearance instead.
A whistleblower revealed that Navient employees were graded on how quickly they could get customers off the phone, not on how helpful they were.
The Biden administration has managed to get meaningful solutions through by tweaking existing programs, forgiving nearly $12 billion for borrowers with disabilities and $56 billion for public service loan forgiveness borrowers.
The SAVE plan, a retooled version of income-driven repayment, lowers eligibility requirements and ensures that debts would be wiped clean after 10 years of payments for those who borrowed less than $122,000.
The Biden administration has relieved a total of $138 billion in student loans for 3.9 million people in just three years, more than any president in history.

Addressing the giant pile of debt and the absurd cost of college are crucial, with proposals ranging from holding colleges responsible for a portion of the debt to making college tuition-free.