Recent Chronicle Piece on Student Loan Default Rates By Kelly Field

It's no surprise to me that Ms. Field has discovered that defaults on student loans are much higher than the federal government has suggested. In her recent report published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Ms. Field writes, "The share of borrowers who default on their student loans is bigger than the federal government's short-term data suggest, with thousands more facing damaged credit histories and millions more tax dollars being lost in the long run."

NPR's Robert Siegel also spoke to Ms. Field about her recent findings. In that interview, Ms. Field stated that she was "somewhat surprised" by the numbers. But here's my question: why is Ms. Field slightly surprised? It's not the least bit surprising. I've been advocating for the indentured educated class for over a year, and it's quite clear to me that millions of Americans are suffering. Moreover, you have thousands and thousands of Americans who are student loan refugees, living across the globe and therefore not contributing to the well-being and growth of the U.S. economy and so forth. That's just one of many hidden tragedies related to the student lending crisis. There's a name for this one, too. It's called "brain drain." (Of course, I refuse to accept that this larger problem - the crisis itself - will simply remain hidden and therefore a secret. I will continue to fight on behalf of student borrowers until the day I die. Indeed, I will continue to raise awareness in order to convince politicians and policy makers to do something drastic in order to help the indentured educated class).

While it was not the focus of her piece, Ms. Field could have at least mentioned co-signers on these loans. No one has taken co-signers into account. If that data were to be added to these types of stories, the  student loan default rates would be far more devastating. Indeed, when one considers the number of co-signers on these loans (I don't think there's even any data that can show us these numbers), one realizes how this problem is truly of epic proportions. That raises two questions: what are the numbers really at, i.e., how many millions and millions of people are being negatively affected by the student lending crisis? In addition, how much money is the taxpayer losing as a result of these individuals who are defaulting on their student loans?

On the topic of how it is costing other Americans, Ms. Field also brings up the point about how the student lending crisis is costing taxpayers money. In one of my recent posts, I also mentioned this issue of cost. It's commendable that Ms. Field discusses this issue as well, but we desperately need more coverage on the student lending crisis as a whole. For the crisis is not on its way, but rather the crisis has arrived. 

  

Stop pretending that the cards haven't fallen.