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The debt trap : how student loans became a national catastrophe / Josh Mitchell.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : Simon & Schuster, 2021Copyright date: ©2021Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover editionDescription: 260 pages ; 23 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781501199448
  • 1501199447
Subject(s):
Contents:
Introduction -- The visionary (1957-1969) -- When Ed met Sallie (1969-1990) -- Our greedy colleges (1974-1990) -- American dreamer (1991-1995) -- The Lord of Wall Street (1994-2008) -- Hope and hubris (2006-2016) -- The great unequalizer (2014-2015) -- State U Inc. (2014-2018) -- The trap (2016-2018) -- Conclusion.
Summary: "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 in $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.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 378.38 M681 Available 33111010671739
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 378.38 M681 Available 33111010555494
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

An NPR Best Book of 2021

From acclaimed Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Mitchell, the "devastating account" ( The Wall Street Journal ) of student debt in America.

In 1981, 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 "vivid and compelling" ( Chicago Tribune ) 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."

As he charts the "jaw-dropping" (Jeffrey Selingo, New York Times bestselling author of Who Gets in and Why ) seventy-year history of student debt in America, Mitchell never loses sight of the countless student victims ensnared by an exploitative 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 "necessary reading" ( The New York Times ) for anyone wanting to understand the central economic issue of our day.

Includes bibliographical resources (page 245) and index.

Introduction -- The visionary (1957-1969) -- When Ed met Sallie (1969-1990) -- Our greedy colleges (1974-1990) -- American dreamer (1991-1995) -- The Lord of Wall Street (1994-2008) -- Hope and hubris (2006-2016) -- The great unequalizer (2014-2015) -- State U Inc. (2014-2018) -- The trap (2016-2018) -- Conclusion.

"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 in $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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