Student Loan Debt: The Next Major Economic Threat

STUDENT LOAN DEBT: THE NEXT MAJOR ECONOMIC THREAT THE NUMBERS ON STUDENT LOAN DEBT About 20 million Americans attend college every year 60% of students borrow money every year to cover costs That's greater than the entire population of Canada More than 40 million Americans currently have outstanding student loan debt About 14% of these people have at least one past-due account About 7 million people have defaulted on student loan debt Student loan debt has gone up by over 500% since 1999 That's roughly 2% of the U.S. The average salary for young people has decreased by Total student loan debt in the U.S. is over $1.1 trillion 10% since 2000 The average student loan debt for the class of 2012 was $29,400 SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT STUDENT LOAN DEBT Most student loan debt is NOT currently dischargeable under bankruptcy laws Credit card debt, gambling debt, and other consumer debts ARE covered 95% of bankruptcy attorneys say most student loan debtors have little chance of a discharge Student loan debts keep growing if you are unable to pay Co-signing family members can even inherit student loan debt if a borrower passes away Defaulting on student loans can have an effect on professional licenses Professional licenses may BBe be denied as a result of student loan debt Student loan debt delays major purchases Debt prevents people from qualifying for mortgages, car loans, and more Federal student loans now have variable interest rates, which are expected to rise Rates could go past 6.8% by 2015 The federal government is making money off of student loan debt If it were a private company, it'd be the most profitable in the world ExonMobil The feds made That's $5 billion about $50 billion more than Exxon Mobil, the most profitable company in the U.S. off of student loans in 2013 PROVIDED BY: SHULMAN LAW OFFICES WWW.SANJOSEBANKRUPTCY.COM SOURCES: http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-op-carson-student-laon-debt- bankruptcy-0315-20140314,0,1269773.story http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/student-debt-may-hurt-housing- recovery-by-hampering-first-time-buyers/2014/02/17/d90c7c1e-94bf-11e3-83b9- 1f024193bb84_story.html http://www.asa.org/policy/resources/stats/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kyle-mccarthy/10-fun-facts-about-student-loan- debt_b_4639044.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_of_Canada http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/04/pf/college/student-loan-debt/ http://nacba.org/Portals/0/Documents/Student% 20Loan %20Debt/020712%20NACBA% 20student% 2Oloan% 20survey.pdf http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/business/the-ripple-effects-of-rising-student- debt.html?_r=1 %24