Millennials are facing $1 trillion in debt

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

More than a decade has passed since young Americans faced debt levels this high.

Debt among 19-to-29-year-old Americans exceeded $1 trillion at the end of 2018, according to the New York Federal Reserve Consumer Credit Panel. That’s the highest debt exposure for the youngest adult group since late 2007.

Debt levels play a role in how young adults view their spending conditions, according to a University of Michigan survey released Friday. Younger adults -- those under age 35 -- have reduced their spending compared with previous generations possibly because of weakened job prospects, delayed marriage and education debt.

Policymakers have recognized that lower spending limits economic growth. As a result, a number of policies to boost younger adults spending such as forgiving student debt have entered the political arena, according to Richard Curtin, director of the University of Michigan consumer survey.

Student loans make up the majority of the $1,005,000,000,000 owed by this cohort, followed by mortgage debt. New mortgages among young adults today remain quite a bit below levels incurred in the early 2000s. This may suggest adults are waiting longer to buy homes and may opt to rent for a longer period of time than previous generations.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/millennials-are-facing-dollar1-trillion-in-debt/ar-BBU3hhD?li=BBnbfcN

Tuition was still affordable when I went to college in the late 70s. It starting going up exponentially when Reagan took over.

[safeinOhio]

1. Another day older and

deeper in debt. I owe my soul to the company store.
The more times change, the more they remain the same.

[nitpicker]

2. One cause: a race for rankings

By the schools.

When I went to the local school, a lot of the teachers were retired government workers wanting something to do.

But then the leadership decided to hire a prominent writer.

Then it decided to chase even harder to be a "ranked school".

[modrepub]

3. More Complicated

There a many contributing factors to the staggering amount of debt kids have gotten themselves into over the last few decades. As someone who's kids are just starting college I can say things have definitely upgraded in the last 25 years and at a cost. No more drab dorm rooms, bland meals, sterile class rooms or dismal computer labs. All of these upgraded amenities/necessities have only added to the cost of a college education. Sure you can go with a cheaper state or community college but then you will be competing with others who paid that $40k/year for a more prestigious pedigree. My wife and I have had multiple "discussions" regarding our kids selection of a cheaper state school over the more prestigious school we met at. She seeing no difference in degrees and me wondering how a job recruiter would pick our son over some of the better more expensive school options in our area. We are about to find out as our oldest graduates next year and my old roommate's kids, who all are going to more expensive schools, will graduate at about the same time.

I honestly don't know the answer to this dilemma. Some of the debt numbers I've heard from my younger coworkers just starting out are mind boggling and very scary. I can't see this as a viable model but the longer we put some real discussions and possible solutions off the worse we collectively as a society will be.

[crazycatlady]

5. I'm a bit older than the demographic in this thread

But I'm an 80s baby and was in college more recently than most of this forum.

I did the whole 'college experience' thing for a year at a small religious school and transferred the fuck out of that place. It was not for me and I made the mistake of listening to my mom ('small school good big school bad') instead of myself. My roommate was saving her first kiss for the altar. I ended up going to a local state school while working FT at a big-box store.

I had an interview in 2005-6 for a nationally known rental car company. The interview was all about my 'college experience' and what kind of activities I did through college. I could have lied and said I partied all the time and was a proud member of Tappa Kegga, but instead I told the truth. "I was a commuter and only on campus for my classes. My extracirricular activity was my job at Big Box." The interview ended within 10 minutes of me saying that because I was clearly not what they were looking for. Other interviewers saw my vast retail experience and told me to just stay there (and were very rude about it). I wanted to say that I went to college to avoid being a cashier my entire life but that would not have gone over well.

On the other hand, my sister (who went to an elite private college) received multiple prestigious job offers without even leaving campus (companies did on-campus interviews.) As did my BIL (who went to the same school).

Now that I am in a totally different field (political campaigns) I generally don't care about where you went to school or your major. Exceptions are recent (less than 2 years out) grads who went to school in district (thus still have connections on campus) or if major/minor tells me they're fluent in a foreign language and it is relevant to the district (ie a Spanish minor in a Latino district).

[modrepub]

8. We All Eventually Find Our Way

as my wife says; it all seems to work out OK for most of us, eventually. My old roommate told stories of job interviews that consisted of shooting the sh-t about the school we went to (big engineering school) with the recruiter for an hour before discussing job start dates. He knows the reason he got the job was because he had the common connection with the interviewer. Was it fair? He'll admit as much that it wasn't, but you need to work and you use every advantage that you are presented with. And for the record my roommate was highly antisocial and hated "the tradition" mantra our school pushed as another gimmick to separate people from their money. The world ain't fair at times but if you've actually hired someone you know that person's personality is often just as important as the person's ability to do the work so brush up on your soft skills as they call them

[jmowreader]

4. The ultra rich love millenials being in debt for the same reason they hate Obamacare

Ultra-high debt levels and the inability to move your health insurance easily both help lock good employees into bad jobs. If you've got $150,000 in debt for a four-year degree, you will think twice before you leave an employer who shits on you constantly - especially since in this day and age, employers hire based on credit scores and GPA. If you default on your crushing student loan debt, you'll never get a job.

When I am president I will make it a felony to use credit scores for anything but credit determinations. If you're not considering extending a loan to someone, and you access their credit report...five years in federal prison, no parole.

[Igel]

6. I think that if you talked to them

you'd realize that you're not that important. They think about you like you think about people living in small-town Idaho or Oklahoma. In generalities, at best, and then inaccurately and indistinctly; not at all, at worst, unless for some reason something forces them onto your radar.

There are reasons to use credit scores in looking at employment. If you're under debt you're under more stress; put such a person around a large amount of cash and you're just increasing temptation. Those not in debt can succumb to greed and temptation; some of those in debt already did, so they have a track record.

Presidents don't get to dictate law.

[jmowreader]

7. Uhh...you know I live in small-town Idaho, correct?