The steamroller that is student loan debt in the United States is large and writ with outsized consequences.
And its persistent growth is no longer taking people by surprise in Florida or anywhere else in the country.
In fact, student loan repayment obligations have reportedly risen by a whopping 350 percent since 2003. Scarcely a day goes by that seems unmarked by some prominent media mention of the burgeoning phenomenon affecting millions of consumers.
A recent CNN article discussing student loans is a case in point. The gist of the story focuses on an idea being pushed by BlackRock, a Wall Street investment company, that is certain to garner more than a modicum of national attention.
Here’s why: BlackRock is proposing that the student loan obligations of many Americans simply be erased.
You read that right. In a recommendation that far exceeds merely extending repayment terms for borrowers or adjusting their loan interest rates, BlackRock is calling for an outright termination of the debt owed by as many as several million people.
The company’s rationale: Many persons no longer plagued by onerous student loan repayment duties will likely seek to purchase homes, with their mortgages being termed “productive debt” by BlackRock. A spokesperson for the company says that such an initiative would basically pay for itself, given that beneficial effects would be felt across the economy in a wide sense. The housing market would expand and experience new vigor. Jobs would be created, consumer goods purchased and tax revenues increased.
Is BlackRock’s vision a pipe dream? As CNN notes, debt forgiveness would require congressional action, given that the federal government is deeply involved in student loan/debt administration.
It isn’t difficult to imagine that myriad other schemes aimed at ameliorating the adverse effects of student debt will be suggested in the future as potential solutions to what is inarguably a problem of significant magnitude.
We will be sure to keep our readers informed concerning their material details.
Source, CNN Money, “Will this get millennials to buy homes?” Matt Egan, Oct. 31, 2014