Abstract
There are nearly 1.6 trillion dollars in outstanding federal student loans and more than 59 billion in private loans. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic student loan debt was being called a crisis. Student loan debt topped all consumer debt except mortgages. Delinquencies were rising and debtors, especially millennials, were feeling crushed under their impact. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and student loan payments were put on hold, providing the conditions to examine the economic effects of student loan payments on student borrowers. This paper explores some of the effects of the student-loan debt burden has had on our economy and the role easing that burden has played in our post-COVID recovery. It looks at the education industry, its role in our society, and the policy decisions that have shaped the student loan crisis. It concludes with a call for change in how we ease the debt burdens already created and how we fund higher education moving forward.
First Page
309
Recommended Citation
Judith
Fox
Student Loan Debt: The Long-Term Economic Consequences,
36
Loy. Consumer L. Rev.
309
(2025).
Available at:
https://lawecommons.luc.edu/lclr/vol36/iss3/2