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Debt Trap: How Student Loans Became a National Catastrophe
Debt Trap: How Student Loans Became a National Catastrophe | Josh Mitchell
4 posts | 3 read | 8 to read
From acclaimed Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Mitchell, the dramatic, untold story of student debt in America. In 1982, a new executive at Sallie Mae took home the company's financial documents to review. "You've got to be shitting me," he later told the company's CEO. "This place is a gold mine." Over the next four decades, the student loan industry that Sallie Mae and Congress created blew up into a crisis that would submerge a generation of Americans into $1.5 trillion in student debt. In The Debt Trap, Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Mitchell tells the untold story of the scandals, scams, predatory actors, and government malpractice that have created the behemoth that one of its original architects called a "monster." The tale begins in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik. Afraid that America was falling behind the Soviets in science education, Congress created the first major federal student loan program to enroll more students in college. What followed were a series of well-intentioned government actions that created a cycle of reckless lending and runaway tuition. Easy access to loans allowed colleges to raise tuition to unheard of levels, which in turn led Congress to increase loan limits and interest rates and expand who could borrow. This spiral continued as the private banks that fronted the money made huge profits on interest. "Nobody was pure in this business," one former college president said. As he charts the gripping seventy-year history of student debt in America, Mitchell never loses sight of the countless student victims ensnared by an exploitive system that depends on their debt. Mitchell also draws alarming parallels to the housing crisis in the late 2000s, showing the catastrophic consequences student debt has had on families and the nation's future. Mitchell's character-driven narrative is required reading for anyone wanting to understand the central economic issue of our day.
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TheDaysGoBy
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Pickpick

This book was really interesting. I was one of those people who graduated with a lot of debt and it was interesting to truly understand how we as a nation got here. I learned a lot and it honestly makes me want to pay off my remaining debt even faster 😂 Seriously though, it was a fascinating read!

#catsoflitsy #nonfiction

wanderinglynn Glad to hear you liked it. It‘s on my TBR. 3y
SamanthaMarie This sounds really interesting!! Added it to my TBR. 3y
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TheDaysGoBy
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My latest haul from the library. I started with The Debt Trap first. Only two chapters in and it‘s already fascinating

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Megabooks
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Pickpick

I was alternately enraged and dumbfounded by this history of the student loan industry from the 1950s to today. There were clueless politicians, greedy bankers and colleges, and students trying to get ahead. The whole timeline moved from well-intentioned but poorly run to super predatory. A fascinating read, especially if you‘re a borrower! #audiobook

CarolynM Not that long ago I saw a a TV program that explained student debt and the shenanigans around it. It's appalling. I can't believe the lenders were allowed to get away with their behaviour😡 3y
Megabooks @CarolynM right?! It‘s horrible and predatory and not at all what the original intention was. 3y
Cinfhen I have a feeling my blood is going to boil!! 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen totally!! It‘s just INSANE! 3y
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Megabooks
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Small #NewReleaseTuesday compared with last week, and all of it is #nonfiction #audiobooks. Starting with one tagged in the post. (Other ⬇️)

Have a great day everyone! 👍🏻😎

Cinfhen A small but mighty release day!! I‘m totally interested in BOTH books!!!! Thanks for tagging me xxxx 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen you‘re welcome!! I‘ll be sure to tag you in both reviews. 3y
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Cinfhen 😘😘😘almost done packing 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen fantastic!! I‘m glad you‘re still going to be able to make the trip. Is M coming too? 😘💜 3y
Cinfhen Nope, I‘m traveling solo😩a little anxious today xx 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen so I used to get inordinately nervous to do surgery, especially anything new. The best boss I had gave me a Star Wars quote whenever I was nervous - “Do or do not do, there is no try.” You‘ve made the decision to go, so go in confident, positive, and with a mask. You will deal well with any problems IF they arise, but FWIW, I don‘t have any bad feelings about this trip. 💜😘😘 3y
Cinfhen Thanks for the good advice and good juju vibes xxxx things have a way of working out ♥️ 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen exactly!! 👍🏻 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen and I don‘t mean to say you‘re inordinately nervous! I always worry about phrasing things incorrectly! Anyway, I do think that you‘ll be fine, but I understand that it‘s not the easier time to air travel. 💜 3y
Cinfhen I totally didn‘t take it that way at all xxx I‘m at the airport all checked in. Airport is PACKED!!! But I‘m masked and keeping my distance 🙃 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen praying for you to have a fun, safe, healthy trip!! 😘😘 3y
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