The History of Student Loans in Bankruptcy

 Student loans are basically non-dischargeable, almost everyone knows this. There are some very specific circumstances where even today you can have your student loan debt discharged, but that is a narrow exception that often requires a fight and money to fight. We will discuss the current state of dischargeability in a future post.

The landscape around student loans and bankruptcy has not always been so desolate. Not so long ago these loans were dischargeable. Back when they were dischargeable, the cost of an education was much lower and the total student loan debt was a fraction of what it is now. With student loan debt currently being a 1,200,000,000,000.00 (One Trillion Two Hundred Billion) dollar problem holding people back from purchasing homes or taking part in the broader economy, with a little help they may become dischargeable yet again.

A Brief History.

Student loans really did not pop into existence in America until 1958 under the National Defense Education Act. 1. These loans were offered as a way to encourage students to pursue math and science degrees to keep us competitive with the Soviet Union. 2. In 1965, the Guaranteed Student Loan or Stafford Loan program was initiated under the Johnson Administration. Over time, additional loan programs have come into existence. The necessity of loans for students has become greater as the subsidies universities receive have fallen over time. Take Ohio State for example. In 1990, they received 25% of their budget from the state, as of 2012 that percentage had fallen to 7%. In the absence of state money, universities and colleges have increased tuition to cover the reduction in state money.

The Rising Cost of Education.

The cost of higher education adjusted for inflation over time goes something like this, in 1980 the average cost for tuition room and board at a public institution was $7,587.00 in 2014 dollars and by 2015 it had gone up to $18,943.00 in 2014 dollars. The cost of a higher education in 35 years with inflation accounted for has gone up by 2.5 times. Compare this to inflation adjusted housing costs which have remained nearly unchanged, increasing just 19% from 1980 to 2015 when the bubble and housing crisis is removed. 3. Or compare to wages which, except for the top 25%, have not increased over that same time period. Looking at affordability in terms of minimum wage it is clear that loans are more and more necessary for anyone who wants to attend university or college.

 In 1981, a minimum wage earner could work full time in the summer and make almost enough to cover their annual college costs, leaving a small amount that they could cobble together from grants, loans, or work during the school year. 4. In 2005, a student earning minimum wage would have to work the entire year and devote all of that money to the cost of their education to afford 1 year of a public college or university. 5. Now think about this, there are approximately 40 million people with student loan debt somewhere over the 1.2 trillion dollar mark. According to studentaid.gov, seven million of those borrowers are in default, that is roughly 18%. Default is defined as being 270 days delinquent on your student loan payments. Once in default, the loan balances increase by 25% and are sent to collections. The collections agencies get a commission on collected debt and are often owned by the very entity that originated the loans, i.e. Sallie Mae. 

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