SpareChange: Are There Viable Possibilities Now for Student Loan Reform?

Thanks to Spare Change News for inviting me to write an op-ed after the election results. This piece offers 9 solutions to solving the student lending crisis (mind you, that's the short list).

Here's the piece in its entirety, and below is a snippet:

It’s hard to avoid the clichéd statement—and every pundit has been saying it over and over again—this was truly an historic election. Not only was President Barack Obama re-elected, but a number of very progressive candidates, such as Elizabeth Warren, seized seats in Congress as well. It seems clear: the values of the American public are changing.

When it comes to people who are struggling or unable to pay off their student loans, Warren’s win is significant for several reasons. First, Warren is not a fan of student lenders. She was also behind the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is now working in earnest on issues relating to the student lending crisis. Moreover, Warren once said, “Student loan debt collectors have power that would make mobsters envious.” While Warren is a freshman senator, she is joining several colleagues who are genuinely concerned about Americans who are struggling or unable to pay off their student loans. If she, along with Senators Brown (D-OH), Harkin (D-IA), and others, can garner bipartisan support for legislation that will bring relief of some sort to distressed or defaulted borrowers, the indentured educated class might just see actual results in the coming years.