The case for erasing every last penny of student debt

Simple! Bold! Kids love it!

A graduate.
(Image credit: Sean Spencer / Alamy Stock Photo)

Student loan debt is a crushing problem in America. Over 44 million people have such loans, with an average balance of about $30,000 — making for a total debt pile of $1.4 trillion. Unsurprisingly, people often struggle to repay these debts with their entry-level wages after graduating. Student debt is now the most common form of troubled debt, with about 11 percent of them 90 days or more delinquent. Worse still, thanks to Republicans and neoliberal Democrats alike, they are almost impossible to discharge in bankruptcy.

We should try the most obvious solution: Congress should cancel all the debt and have the government pay back the lenders.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.