If one were to ask me what I think is the most dangerous threat to our economy, the answer is very simple: student loans.
As I write this, we have more than $1.2 trillion of student loan debt. About 10 million federal students loans are taken out annually, and then there are the insanely dangerous private student loans on top of that staggering number.
And while 6.7 million borrowers in repayment mode are delinquent, the sad fact is that many lenders aren't exactly incentivized to work with borrowers. Unlike all other forms of debt, student loans can't be discharged in bankruptcy. Moreover, lenders can garnish wages and even Social Security benefits to get repaid. A new report by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau details just how bad the situation is for private loan borrowers. (From Oct. 1, 2013, through Sept. 30, the agency handled about 5,300 private student loan complaints, an increase of nearly 38 percent from the previous year.)
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102111647
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