The Wall Street Journal reported that Homeownership among young Americans under the age of 35 hit its lowest level ever – while student loan debt hit a new high. College students who took out loans will graduate this year with an average of $33,000 in student debt, up 32 percent from 2007 – after an inflation-adjusted.
Debt among those who went to grad school is also up sharply with overall student debt at $1.1 trillion – double the load in 2007 – with much of it at relatively high interest rates. Homeownership rates among those under 35 has fallen to 36.2 percent – down from a high in 2004 of 43.6 percent. “Overly indebted households are not in a position to spend and move forward,” said former White House advisor Lawrence Summers.
Summers has quite the insight on the increasingly ugly mess. We can only hope that Congress gets some new toys in their sandbox and some good “high school” counselors, so that they can learn how to play together. Term limits sound better and better as Congress fights over what color pencils they should buy and who gets to bring home the bacon. In the meantime, the future leaders of our nation can’t move forward with their lives.