The facts and fictions of student debt
A student debt crisis in America? We break down the myths and realities of student debt.
Stories all over the news have identified a new crisis in the United States: student debt. They say debt is crushing college students, topping $1 trillion dollars overall. That’s more than both credit card and auto loans; it’s second only to mortgages.
Yet our guest this week says that scary trillion-dollar number isn’t what we should focus on.
Sandy Baum is a senior fellow at the Urban Institute and author of Student Debt: Rhetoric and Realities of Higher Education Financing.
Baum says loans provide access to college for students who couldn’t other wise afford it. Instead of dismissing debt out of hand, every student should evaluate what kind of higher education is worth it for them.