Something has been going on for a while now and although people talk about it, not many seem like they take it seriously. Becuase it isnt an imminent problem with many effects we can see upfront, people want to turn a blind eye. This problem is the destruction of financial independence for the students of the next generation, mostly due college loans in the United States.
The whole university system in the United States is a catch 22. You either go into debt to earn more money, which ends up paying less because you need to pay loans back, or you dont go into debt and end up making less because you didnt go to college. There are some exceptions for certain jobs, but this idea that you need to go to college is held up by the largest corporations and the majority of the jobs in the country.
College tuition alone, not counting the living costs while at university, has grown exponentially in the last 20 years. Our parents were paying a fraction in inflation adjusted dollars than we are now. Even state schools which are supposed to be reasonable and inexpensive have jacked up prices and are exploiting their own tax payers. Some places are more progressive than others, but even a state school will run you about 100k in debt. Much of this debt is at interest rates higher than 6%, which will take you until your 30s to pay off.
Most people want to chalk it up to millennials complaining about their situation, but in many cases it is the generation above us and the baby boomers that ruined it. We have to pay into social security that we will never get, we will be renting from souless corporations that have eaten up all of the real estate in the country because you destroyed the housing market. If you move out on your own by the age of 30 these days, you are fortunate.
The long term side effects have yet to be felt as well. The housing market will continue to shrink as less and less buyers can afford homes. Loans are going to skyrocket as banks lose money on potential credit worthy individuals. The stock market is going to hurt because people dont have money to invest, ect. The student loan crisis is a huge problem that in my opinion is going to explode in the next 10 or so years. The financial security and freedom we once had the ability of attaining is becoming harder and harder to get.
I am very fortunate to not be in the same situation as many others, but even from my siblings I see the long lasting effects. Everything has consequences and every day the government milks students for every penny they have via state schools and allows private loan companies to offer loans at credit card level rates, we are screwed. The average person is going to take on the debt and either not pay it back or give up 30 years of earning,saving and purchasing potential.
-Calaber24p