GREED & Fear: The Kids Are Alright

At the beginning of January, the Brookings Institute published a new report on the state of student debt problems in the US. The report analyzes new data on student debt and repayment, released by the US Department of Education in October 2017, which is the most comprehensive dataset on the subject. The data gives a detailed overview of student debt and defaults from when they enter college up to two decades after for two cohorts of first-time entrants (in 1995-96 and 2003-04).

Brookings findings on the data show that student debt problems are growing. Specifically, figures show student loan cumulative default rates continue to rise between 12 and 20 years after initial entry. Applying the same rate of default growth...