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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Student Debt Is Out of Control: Is it Ever OK to Default?

    For baby boomers, the big issue was war and peace. For millennials it's student debt. That's according to a poll by Harvard University . With the average amount owed about $35,000, the total burden is more than a trillion dollars for college and graduate school for some 40 million Americans, — all of whom are old enough to vote.

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    By Warren Olney • Jun 11, 2015 • 33m Listen

    For baby boomers, the big issue was war and peace. For millennials it's student debt. That's according to a poll by Harvard University. With the average amount owed about $35,000, the total burden is more than a trillion dollars for college and graduate school for some 40 million Americans, — all of whom are old enough to vote. In the Washington Post, Danielle Douglas-Gabriel reports that presidential candidates of both political parties are addressing the issue. Meanwhile, the New York Times is being called irresponsible for an op-ed piece encouraging student debtors to default on their payments. Is that the start of a much-needed conversation or just lousy advice? We hear more about the high cost of higher education.

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Andrea Brody

      Senior Producer, KCRW's Life Examined and To the Point podcast

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Evan George

      Director of Content, News

    • KCRW placeholder

      Katie Cooper

      Producer, 'One year Later'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Danielle Douglas-Gabriel

      Washington Post

    • KCRW placeholder

      William Deresiewicz

      essayist and critic

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sandy Baum

      George Washington University

      NewsNationalPolitics
    Back to To the Point