[!@#$%!]

it's a lot to cover but i'll try to answer

the problem with the student loan crisis is that the loans are federally guaranteed, so that anybody is able to borrow huge amounts in order to postpone adulthood without any kind of reasonable plan to pay it back.

then they can't go bankrupt on it or get repo'd like normal loans. you're stuck for life.

unlike a car loan or mortgage where the lender looks at your financials and repayment plan before they lend you anything, here it's more like-- "hey you want some free money? sure, here you go!"

it's a government-induced problem. by opening up and guaranteeing the money supply it creates inflation. classic problem.

colleges respond in turn not by offering a good value for the money, but instead by building up spiffy student unions, offering gourmet choices in their dining halls, treating every student like a customer that must be pampered. grade inflation is rampant.

this in turn lowers the value of a college degree. because that's what inflation does.

since anybody and their mother can get an A by borrowing unlimited funds, what does it matter that you finished college?

so now you have to go for the master's while your adulthood and earning potential gets further delayed.

now you finally get the entry level job and have to start paying back a quarter million bucks...

sure, everybody needs an education. but unlimited money supplies only create inflation. look at the gold rush.