28 December 2023
As of mid-November, only 60% of those with federal student loans due in October have made payments. The U.S. student loan debt exceeds $1.7 trillion, surpassing credit card and auto loan debts, with the average loan balance at graduation now around $30,000, up from $10,000 in the 1990s. Astra Taylor, co-founder of the Debt Collective, describes the situation where 40% of borrowers haven’t paid as a “massive student debt strike.”