from Wikipedia:

[edit]Criticism of US student loan programs

After the passage of the bankruptcy reform bill of 2005, even private student loans are not discharged during bankruptcy. This provided a credit risk free loan for the lender, averaging 7 percent a year. [23]

In 2007, the Attorney General of New York State, Andrew Cuomo, led an investigation into lending practices and anti-competitive relationships between student lenders and universities. Specifically, many universities steered student borrowers to "preferred lenders" which resulted in those borrowers incurring higher interest rates. Some of these "preferred lenders" allegedly rewarded university financial aid staff with "kick backs." This has led to changes in lending policy at many major American universities. Many universities have also rebated millions of dollars in fees back to affected borrowers.[24][25]

The biggest lenders, Sallie Mae and Nelnet, are criticized by borrowers. They frequently find themselves embroiled in lawsuits, the most serious of which was filed in 2007. The False Claims Suit was filed on behalf of the federal government by former Department of Education researcher, Dr. Jon Oberg, against Sallie Mae, Nelnet, and other lenders. Oberg argued that the lenders overcharged the U.S. Government and defrauded taxpayers of millions and millions of dollars. In August of 2010, Nelnet settled the lawsuit and paid $55 million. [26]

The New York Times recently published an editorial endorsing the return of bankruptcy protections for private student loans in response to the economic downturn and universally increasing tuition at all colleges and graduate institutions. [27]

In June of 2010, the amount of student loan debt held by Americans exceeded the amount of credit card debt held by Americans. At that time, student loan debt totaled at least $830 billion, of which approximately 80% was federal student loan debt and 20%was private student loan debt. In October 2011, the total amount of money owed in student loan debt was said to exceed $ 1 trillion.

**************

Allow me to sum this up.

-The student loan trade is now bigger than the credit card trade.

-The rates are completely usurious, considering that it's an undischargable debt.

- Young people, anxious, in some cases desperate for a chance to earn a living that provides them a modicum of security in which to raise a family (Pursuit of Happiness) are being suckered into paying exorbitant tuitions for degrees of questionable value in exchange for undischargable debt that in some cases will follow them all their lives.

But hey, what else can you do? All the skilled labor jobs are gone. Sold to the Chinese by the same people making these loans.

Man, if Jesus were alive to see this.....

ebear