I'm sure some bootstrappy libertarian will be along in a minute to remind us that the ballooning education debt is due solely to a lack of personal responsibility on the part of students. After all, it doesn't matter that tuition rates have skyrocketed compared to inflation over the past ten years. No, it's all the kids' fault! Every single one of them should've predicted the future and gone to a state school, since tuition totally hasn't gone up at those places. Who cares that people have relied on student loans for generations and lived decent lives? This is America! We don't consider past success when making reasoned decisions about the future. That would make sense! Besides, unless you major in engineering, IT, or air-conditioning repair, you deserve to be unemployed and indentured to Sallie-Mae for 75 years. Got a liberal arts degree? Please! Maybe your ability to engage in critical thinking would've been useful back in 1986 when employers still bothered to train their employees, but this is 2011. You need to go to trade school! But remember, you must be clairvoyant and know four years in advance whether your chosen trade will be outsourced to the Philippines before you graduate. Failing that, you'll just need to take a quasi-legal, unpaid internship for at least two years in order to gain experience. This will require you to “work hard”, i.e., have parents rich enough to subsidize your thralldom for two years. If that doesn't work, it can only mean you are lazy and stupid.
