Student Debt - History

History

Many factors are accountable for the drastic increase of student debt. The growing problem of student debt has become more prominent in the past decade, inspiring numerous documentaries that examine the causes and effects. The Fallen American Dream, is a documentary on America’s challenges with college affordability and its declining job market during a time of national crisis and global change. One factor is due to the new guidelines developed by the federal government. There are now new rules deciding who can borrow, as well as how much debt they can take on. Colleges and universities have been increasing the costs for students to attend their respective schools subsequently increasing the amount of debt these students take on as student loans. Reports have shown that borrowers who finished college in the early 1990s were able to maintain managing their student loans without an enormous burden. The average debt has increased 58% since over the past seven years. It has risen from $17,233 in 2005 to $27,253 in the United States. Some blame the economy for the debt increases, but in the same 7 year period credit card debt and auto debt have decreased. According to the Student Debt Crisis, within the past three decades the cost of attaining a college degree has drastically increased by more than 1,000 percent. If student debt had stayed constant with inflation since 1992, graduates would not be facing such burdens by student loans.