Are student loans the next debt bomb?

An increasing number of Americans are buckling under the weight of mounting student loan debt and the fallout could look a lot like the nation’s catastrophic mortgage meltdown, experts say, U.S. News reports. Total student loan debt has surged to more than $1 trillion over the past few years and with it the number of people seeking help handling their debt. More than 80 percent of bankruptcy attorneys surveyed by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys reported a “major” jump in student loan borrowers seeking help, according to a study released Tuesday.

“Take it from those of us on the frontline of economic distress in America: This could very well be the next debt bomb for the U.S. economy,” said NACBA president William Brewer. “What we are worried about is that we are looking at the next mortgage-style debt threat to the United States.”

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Student loan debt expected to hit $1 trillion

The total amount of student loan debt is expected to hit one trillion dollars before the end of this year, according to financial analysts, marking yet another milestone as Americans take on more and more debt to get an education, the Washington Post reports. Last year the amount of student loans surpassed credit card debt. And while consumers are paying down their credit cards and home loans, USA Today reports, outstanding student loan debt has doubled in the past five years. (And keep in mind that many people leave college with student loans and credit card debt.) With that massive amount of debt comes frustration, especially for recent graduates who are having trouble finding a job…

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Student-loan delinquencies rise, adding to fears of an education bubble

While the job market remains sluggish, student loan debt continues to rise, fueling fears that a higher-education spending bubble may be underway, the Huffington Post reports. Outstanding student debt has climbed 25 percent since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York–an increase from $440 billion then to $550 billion now. By contrast, every other major category of consumer debt, including mortgage debt, credit card debt, auto loans and home equity loans, is lower today than it was in the fall of 2008…

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