"The big money behind the ongoing student loan disaster"

"In theory, loans provide a leg up for underprivileged students attempting to move up the socioeconomic ladder. However, the path to receiving a coveted diploma is often fraught with dubious lending practices and deliberate misinformation — to say nothing of the exorbitant price tag...

In the past three years, the number of colleges and universities charging over $50,000 per year for tuition has increased by 2400%. During the same time period, the average wage of the American worker grew by a paltry 2%...

There are shockingly few consumer protections in place to guard former students from facing the collector. Wages, social security, and even disability checks may be garnished by the Department of Education if a borrower falls behind on payments.

Alarmingly, even death is not an obstacle. Unlike other kinds of debt, which can be forgiven through declaring bankruptcy, student loan debt is a specter that may haunt graduates for life. If a debtor dies, many private lenders will strong-arm their mourning family into paying off the remaining amount in full."

http://bulletin.represent.us/the-big-money-behind-the-ongoing-student-loan-disaster

I had this substitute teacher in 5th grade who randomly decided to deliver a lecture on how we should all plan to get a job and use that money to put ourselves through college. Her son had put himself through college, she told us, and employers chose him over other candidates because he was clearly responsible.

And that is yet another piece of the American Dream narrative that is now hopelessly out of date.