Would you rather listen to this? I discuss this article in Episode 40 of Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors (formerly The Best Interest Podcast), below.
My previous thoughts on student loans haven’t changed.
- The total student loan debt is a big problem. Housing debt was $1.3T in 2007. Student debt is currently over $1.75T. It’s not a perfect comparison (are we selling wild insurance on this student debt?! No, we’re not…) but it’s illustrative. Student debt is a problem.
- Forgiving loan principal is not the solution. It’s morphine for a bullet wound. The pain is dulled, but we’re still bleeding. Infection and death aren’t if, but when. Colleges are still raising prices, and teenagers are still borrowing $250K to meet those prices. That’s the wound.
If you want to learn more:
- Friend-of-the-blog Jack Raines has good thoughts here.
- …and another FOTB Nick Maggiulli here.
- …and another FOTB Katie Gatti Tassin on this podcast.
- Scott Galloway, who is too famous to have heard of this blog, has good thoughts here.
- My (older but still good) answers are here.
Thank you for reading!
If you enjoyed this article, join 1000’s of subscribers who read my free weekly email, where I send you links to the smartest financial content I find online every week. 100% free, unsubscribe anytime.
Also – our podcast “Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors” has grown ~10x over the past couple years, now helping ~10,000 people per month. Tune in and check it out.
-Jesse
Want to learn more about The Best Interest’s back story? Read here.
Was this post worth sharing? Click the buttons below to share!