Record Number of Student Loan Borrowers Are in Delinquency and Default
nytimes.comStudent loans are a particularly interesting scam. Young people with no income, assets or collateral are funneled into significant long-term debt that is difficult to discharge, even in bankruptcy. Credit card companies might have tried this for a time, but universities are the ones who really took the ball and ran with it.
It seems to be a corrupt bargain with universities, who can raise tuition and fees with impunity (indeed both have outpaced inflation at least half a century.)
"Delinquency" is a bit of a joke/misnomer since modern lenders have abandoned grace periods. This of course means that they can immediately charge late fees...
Some of them are probably just gaming the system intending to resume payments just before garnishments kick in.
This debt will never get paid back, it’s already gone.
Where did it go, though? Mostly into the pockets of universities, many of whom have rather deep pockets and retain substantial assets.