Student-Loan Debt Tops $1 Trillion

Total student debt outstanding appears to have surpassed $1 trillion late last year, said officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency created in the wake of the financial crisis. That would be roughly 16% higher than an estimate earlier this year by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that almost two-thirds of U.S. student-loan borrowers misunderstood or were surprised by aspects of their loans or the student-loan process.  About 20 percent of the respondents in an online survey said the amount of their monthly payments was unexpected.  These respondents had an average of $76,000 in student debt.

Folks, this is not going to end very good.  I know the pundits say that a "college degree is an increasingly good investment because of the widening pay gap between jobs that require a degree and those that don't. Ultimately, the educational degrees and added skills are meant to help workers earn higher incomes that, in time, will more than offset the student debt."  I don't buy that argument it at all.  Sure, certain degrees will more than offset all that student debt; however, for the majority of students will be in servitude for the rest of their lives.  

Oh, that average of $76,000 in student debt, the monthly payment works out to $693.67 at 5% for 12 years.  In other words, don't go into debt to go to school.  Go to a community college where the tuition is affordable, work and go to school part-time, enter the military and let them pay for your college education, or you may want to really think outside the box and attend a college overseas where the tuition is 1/3 of what it is in the United States, and the curriculum is delivered in English.