The college debt crisis is currently overwhelming Americans, both parents and students. There are growing concerns about how the situation has definitely blown out of proportion. It begs the question: who is truly profiting from this?
Reveal News reported that the college finance system is a thriving profit center for Wall Street. This, in turn, has continued to feed the nation's cycle of inequality. College debt has become the "worst kind of debt for Americans" but "the best kind for banks and debt collectors."
Nowadays, banks, private investors as well as the federal government are making money off students with the college debt crisis. The publication shared the stories of two different people: one who has become a slave to her debt while another got rich because of it.
28-year-old Jessie Suren wanted a career in law enforcement. She was able to enroll in La Salle University in Philadelphia but had to borrow about $71,000, a big part of it from student loan finance giant Sallie Mae.
After graduating in 2010, she has had to work 16 hours a day with two low-paying jobs. Still, her balance today is about $90,000.
"My loans are a black cloud hanging over me," she said. "I'm a student debt slave."
Albert Lord, on the other hand, is a 70-year-old former accountant who became a multimillionaire executive. He was the CEO who built Sallie Mae and turned the company into a financial giant through fees, interest and commissions on federally approved student loans.
In a Q&A on Quora, via Huffington Post, Virginia senator Tim Kaine shared his thoughts on the college debt crisis. "College affordability is an issue our country is grappling with at the national level, state level and especially at the family level," he said.
"We need to get this right so students can afford to get a higher education and have a successful start to their careers without being weighed down by student loan debt. There isn't one path that will work for everyone, so we need to look at a number of strategies that enable students to succeed in the workforce."
