I doubt it’ll come as a surprise to anyone under 45, but according to congress.gov, nearly “one in six adult Americans” has federal student loan debt, and the New York Times reports that millennials hold the bulk of that debt.
Back in May, President Trump resumed collections on previously defaulted student loans, which had been paused since 2020. Combined with the government allowing loan servicers to report late payments to credit bureaus again (which had also been on pause), the New York Times said that millions of people have seen their credit scores drop, and “a record number of borrowers are 1755114598 at risk of defaulting by the end of the year.”
Student loans have continued to be a point of contention politically as well, with many conservatives arguing against student loan forgiveness, saying it’s akin to getting something for free. However, younger people contend that the loans are predatory, unaffordable, and feel impossible to pay off, sometimes even after they’ve been making regular payments for years.
