John Oliver’s student loan crisis update

Posted on March 24, 2024 by Bryan Alexander

Nearly a decade ago the comedian John Oliver took on student loans on his remarkably pedagogical show. It was a good, bracing overview of the problem as it stood then.

This week Oliver returned to the theme. I wanted to share it here, then add some comments:

Oliver (and his writing, research team) hit on a good range of essential points. The show starts with updated data: “over 43 million Americans have student loans, that’s about 13% of the U.S. population, for a total outstanding debt of $1.7 trillion.” Then Oliver races ahead, sketching out: student loan history back to Sputnik, rising tuition (and net tuition, nice!), effectively privatizing higher ed, differential prices for in-state and out-of-state students, the amenities arms race, the pressure to get degrees, credential inflation, how repayment structure barely touches principal, Biden’s loan relief efforts, Republican opposition, borrowers’ economic and racial characteristics, and discharging through bankruptcy or service.

Oliver takes time to criticize private mishandling of loan operations, from forgiveness to payment mechanics and customer services, before cheering on the Biden administration’s…