Oregon Student Debt

It would seem that the first practical use of a college degree is figuring out how to pay for it.  According to an Oregonian article, the debt load of a graduating student is 30% higher than it was 5 years ago.  This year, for the first time, outstanding student loans topped credit card debt, and the balance is quickly closing in on $1 trillion nationally.  Oregon's bachelor-degreed students graduate, on average, more than $25,000 in debt. At the University of Oregon in Eugene, tuition and fees have jumped more than 40 percent since 2007.  That's a really hefty price to pay for that piece of paper.

While our captains of industry bemoan our declining education system, I don't see a lot of them paying much of anything to support it.  The effect of all that debt is causing a consumer spending contraction, which spells trouble down the road as they struggle to pay it back.  Graduates aren't buying houses and cars, they're just hoping to join the middle class 5 or 10 years down the road instead of right away.