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It was a terrible idea to have a class of debts that can't be discharged with bankruptcy. That it's mostly incurred by young who lack perspective makes it even worse.

Someday people will look back on this the way we view debtor's prison.

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Yes, it's a travesty that some private equity/LBO guy can have their debts removed, but not this poor girl. The law needs to be changed, especially when you consider how young she and others like her are when they make this decision. She's not considered old enough to drink, but it's okay to make her sign a document that says she is liable for a six-figure debt, for an asset that the lenders know is severely overvalued?

Actually, it's very important that the vilified robber baron of the week can declare bankruptcy too. High income people need to be able to walk away from a bad deal, too, as much for societies good as their own.

I'm sure you're right to put a lot of blame on the lenders though. If the loans weren't federally guaranteed I'm pretty sure they'd be looking at data more granularly than, 'four year degree' or 'two year degree' (though I have to admit that commercial bankers aren't leading in data analysis).

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