US students owe around 830 billion in debt

Article

A ticking time bomb of American debt. Over $830 billion are owed by college students in the US with $3 thousand more added on every second.

The most traditional financial baggage for Americans was credit card debt. For the first time, debt belonging to college students has over taken that number one spot.

Economist Max Wolff said, “Students graduating in 2008, 2009 and 2010 are facing the worst job markets in a generation at least. And so you have people with more debt that we have ever seen before, who are having a harder time finding any job, let alone a job that pays them enough to somehow pay off all this debt.”

“There is an incredible amount of propaganda regarding student loans and education in general. How many times have you heard the phrase ‘education is the best investment you can make’,” said Weisenthal.

Im not for sure if this article is 100% accurate on the numbers, but I would think that it would be pretty close.

Almost a trillion dollars of debt owed by US college students. That is government-type debt, atleast in my opinion. The article says that college debt has taken over the number one spot, above credit cards.

Is this the next "bubble" that is going to burst?

Add it to the other "bubbles" about to burst and it certainly doesn't help... The only benefit is that with student loans (as compared to other types of loans) hardship forbearances are awarded for just about any situation and so most people who cannot pay their loans just put them in deferral where they sit. Upside, temporary relief from pymts. Downside, interest continues to accrue ... The higher education system (funding situation) is a nightmare and will continue to get worse with rising tuition coupled with lack of employment opportunities.

[edit on 7-9-2010 by LadySkadi]

College is such a crock. Scam you out of tens of thousands of dollars just to get loaded, have pointless sexual encounters and coast by in nonsensical classes about nothing of any consequence.

Looking back I would have happily passed on the intoxication, sexual encounters and kept my thousands of dollars and gone to trade school so I could have made 50-70/hour doing something outside with my hands.

As it is now you get out of school and all you have are some blurry memories of what you assume were fun times and a desk job in a cube. But you have a nifty little degree tacked into the felt wall.

Everybody pisses and moans about big this and big that sucking up all kinds of money for no reason. Why no outrage when big uni takes 30K from some kid and gives nothing in return but a piece of paper and some half-assed indoctrination?

Does anyone even take student debt seriously?

Do colleges even teach a worthy education anymore?

Federal and state jobs normally require a college decree and people who graduated from the most elite schools are the ones running Washington. But with all that education, the government seems to act in ways that defy common sense and in total contradiction to an institution run by "smart" people.