Recovery threatened by runaway student loan debt

[Orrex]

45. Spoken like someone who hasn't had to deal with student loans in any real way

Bully for you.

Explain to me exactly how an 18-year-old who's never had a car loan nor a credit card bill can reasonably be expected to comprehend and anticipate the realities of a $50,000 loan that can't be discharged. Perhaps you'll blame that young person's parents who, I presume, are expected to understand the intricacies of finance regardless of their own life experiences. That's simply blaming the victim.

The lender should be required to provide an amortization schedule so that the student who accepts a $10,000 loan will see how it can easily turn into $40,000 of debt.

Not all deception legally qualifies as fraud--it's naive and disingenuous to assert otherwise. Deception can occur simply by omitting or overstating facts, such as colleges do when they claim that a communications degree will be sufficient to repay $60,000 in loans. Or when the lenders don't make clear at the outset that the loans can follow you for six decades or more.


I have never asserted that the borrower has no responsibility, but the burden upon the borrower is grossly disproportionate to the benefit gained from the debt.

I suppose someone will at this point offer up the dubious claim that a college degree will earn the graduate an extra million over a lifetime. I'm prepared to refute that claim as well.