The Third Student-Loan Mess: Outrage and Crushing Debt

By Eric Best. We call crushing debt the third student-loan mess. Postgraduation debt levels are now such a constant part of public discussions about student loans that it is a little surprising to recognize that it really did not attract much attention until the mid-1990s. Suddenly, people began realizing that some borrowers owed five- and even six-figure student-loan debts. More...