Watch the Student Debt Time Bomb Tick
Peter Schiff has been saying that it’s only a matter of time before the student loan bubble pops.
Now you can watch the clock tick thanks to the new National Student Loan Debt Clock developed for MarketWatch by StartClass, an education data site.
According to MarketWatch calculations, student loan debt increases in America by an estimated $2,726.27 every single second:
As policymakers and pundits debate ways to tackle Americans’ $1.2 trillion in student loan debt, this student-loan debt clock provides a window into the growing risks to the economy as well as to student loan borrowers and their families.”
As we’ve reported, according to figures released by the White House, about 27% of student loans are currently not being repaid. That’s far more than the 11.3% the Federal Reserve reported just last year. Some 7.5 million people with student loans are now severely behind in paying back their debt. In fact, the $1.2 trillion student loan bill ranks as the largest source of consumer debt only behind mortgages. Analysts expect the number to more than double in the next 10 years.
The National Student Loan Debt Clock provides a vivid visualization of this ticking time bomb.
MarketWatch said the clock is meant to be used as an estimate:
Researchers at StartClass used Federal Reserve data from 2006 to 2015 to estimate the per-second growth rate in student loan balances. They subtracted the amount of outstanding student debt in the first quarter of 2006 from the amount of outstanding student loan debt in the first quarter of 2015 and divided that number by the number of seconds in a quarter and then divided that by the number of quarters between the first quarter of 2006 and first quarter of 2015.”
The clock is literally ticking on the student loan bubble, and when it finally pops, the ramifications will reach far beyond those saddled with debt. The federal government guarantees these trillions of dollars in outstanding student loans, meaning taxpayers are ultimately on the hook.
A federal court case now pending could facilitate the bust. If a judge rules for the plaintiff, student loan debt could soon be dischargeable through bankruptcy.
The bottom line is that the student debt bubble will ultimately impact US markets and average Americans. You can learn more, and how to prepare yourself, in Peter’s new white paper The Student Loan Bubble: Gambling with America’s Future. Get the free download HERE.
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