Economic bubbles come and go, with everything from stock values to housing and food prices rising and falling based on a complex set of factors. But one area that seems impervious to economic forces is college education costs, which have tracked a dependable upward arc for decades.
It’s a situation that has radically changed higher education in the United States. Parents in middle-class and underprivileged homes can only afford a much smaller percentage of college costs if they can afford any at all. Students without other financial resources have turned to loans to fund their education. The result: more than $1.75 trillion in student loan debt, according to the Educational Data Initiative (EDI).
President Joe Biden recently issued an executive order that forgives up to $20,000 in student loans for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for non-Pell Grant recipients. It’s a positive step, but EDI reports an average federal student loan debt of $37,667, with the total average balance (including private loans) projected as high as $40,274.
