Overview
This illuminating investigation uncovers the full dimensions of the student loan disaster. A father and son team-one a best-selling sociologist, the other a former banker and current quantitative researcher-probes how we've reached the point at which student loan debt-now exceeding $1 trillion and predicted to reach $2 trillion by 2020-threatens to become the sequel to the mortgage meltdown. In spite of their good intentions, Americans have allowed concerns about deadbeat students, crushing debt, exploitative for-profit colleges, and changing attitudes about the purpose of college education to blind them to a growing crisis. With college costs climbing faster than the cost of living, how can access to higher education remain a central part of the American dream? With more than half of college students carrying an average debt of $27,000 at graduation, what are the prospects for young adults in the current economy? Examining how we've arrived at and how we might extricate ourselves from this grave social problem, The Student Loan Mess is a must-read for everyone concerned about the future of American education. Hard facts about the student loan crisis: ⁊ Student loan debt is rising by more than $100 billion every year. ⁊ Among recent college students who are supposed to be repaying their loans, more than a third are delinquent. ⁊ Because student loans cannot be discharged through bankruptcy, the federal government misleadingly treats student loan debt as a government asset. ⁊ Higher default rates, spiraling college costs, and proposals for more generous terms for student borrowers make it increasingly likely that student loan policies will eventually cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.
Full Product Details
Author: Joel Best ,
Eric Best
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 2.50cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.499kg
ISBN: 9780520276451
ISBN 10: 0520276450
Pages: 248
Publication Date: 02 May 2014
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.
Reviews
The Student Loan Mess offers a compact, useful history. -- John Marsh Academe 20140901
Probably the best and clearest book on the United States' complex student debt problem. -- Tyler Cowen TLS 20141126 The Student Loan Mess offers a compact, useful history. -- John Marsh Academe 20140901
Author Information
Joel Best is Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware and author of Damned Lies and Statistics, Stat-Spotting, and Everyone's a Winner, all from UC Press. Eric Best is Assistant Professor of Emergency Management at Jacksonville State University.
