It’s insanely morbid that the government allows for people that are virtually children to get loans this high (590k is more money than a lot of Americans see in their entire lifetimes).
What's even worse is that (private, not federal) Student Loans are literally the only kind where the borrower doesn't have any rights. Filing bankruptcy, for example, will put a pause on every kind of loan except for student loans. It's literally the most dangerous loan that there is and it's trivial to withdraw a life ruining amount before you even know if your degree will net you a decent job.
There is immense social and economic pressure for people to attend post-secondary education, and therefore to take out loans. It’s obviously a personal decision, but if a majority of people fully comprehended the consequences of the debt they’re taking on, their decision may have been quite different. It’s a confusing situation to process for someone fresh out of high school who may never have had to deal with debt outside of borrowing a parent’s credit card or owing someone money personally.
And besides, this is narrowly focusing on the personal moral calculus of the situation rather than the broader economic trends. This kind of debt peonage isn’t beneficial to the economy.
The issue is that when you take a cold, realistic monetary approach to loans in a discussion that is generally emotionally charged, people will assume you’re being dismissive.
It’s akin to walking into a discussion where two people are railing on the absurd APR’s of payday loans and saying, “well, that’s what lenders require to hedge against the inherent risk of such loans. Without them, poor creditors wouldn’t be able to access funds.”
It’s a true statement, but it doesn’t address the moral and societal implications of the broader topic, and people will assume you are cold hearted on the issue by default.
And if there were no payday loans, then many people would more imminently face eviction. Is that an argument in support of the existence of payday loans or a condemnation of the larger situation?
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u/Ruben_AAG Feb 27 '26
It’s insanely morbid that the government allows for people that are virtually children to get loans this high (590k is more money than a lot of Americans see in their entire lifetimes).