Week 3: Student Debt

"Old sins cast long shadows"

Every day, the amount of student debt in the US grows, with the overall amount of debt about to reach $2 Trillion! There have been many proposals on how to deal with this ever-growing number, from the current pause on interest and minimum payments due to the pandemic, to possible legislation that would completely wipe out all student debt. This week, we will learn about why the government started to loan out money for higher education, to what you can do to help yourself if you have loans, or others if you don't!

1. Visualization of Student Debt: After the US lost the race to space, President Eisenhower wanted make sure those with intellectual talents have the ability to harness and grow their talents, even if they could not afford school right away. His initiative helped form the first set of student loans from the US Government!

All student debt in the US, visualized by Vox

2. Student Debt: While much of student loans are used for public and private universities, there are some For-Profit colleges that created a business model where much of their profit comes from these student loans. Some even have unique and scam-like practices to recruit new students, especially potential students who are most at risk to drop out. Additionally, most of these For-Profit colleges do not outperform public universities in their areas.

Student Debt by Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

3. Student Loans: In 2010, the U.S. Government cut banks out of their position as middlemen for U.S. Government student loans, and started giving out the loans directly, with the aid of loan services. However, many problems have risen from the loan services companies, which have gone out of their way to make the repayment of these loans more difficult to increase their profits.

Student Loans by Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj

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