There was a time not too long ago when more than half of all Americans were able to pay for college without a loan. Now?

Ninety-four percent of students who earn a bachelor’s degree borrow to pay for higher education—up from 45 percent in 1993, according to an analysis by The New York Times of the latest data from the Department of Education.

This is not going to end well, says the deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: “If one is not thinking about where this is headed over the next two or three years, you are just completely missing the warning signs.”

Eli Sanders is The Stranger's associate editor. His book, "While the City Slept," was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. He once did this and once won this,...

4 replies on “Generation Debt”

  1. Your first sentence can’t be true. “More than half of all Americans could pay for college without a loan?”

    The article only says that 55% of people who got a bachelor’s degree didn’t need a loan. That’s called a self-selected group, and it’s NOT representative of “all Americans.”

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