Too many people think there's forgiveness light at the end of the tunnel. I feel really bad when they realize there isn't. Except death, maybe. I bet we'll see some of that, too.
https://studentloanhero.com/featured/federal-student-loan-fo...
You are basically given two choices as an average person after you hit over $150k debt: 1) Spend 5-10 years throwing your life away to a job to try and grind away your debt; or 2) Work a low-income job for 25 years and spend your time more meaningfully.
Low income doesn't mean no income, it just means you don't get to participate in consumer capitalism the way those without debt do. You can fault people for their lack of foresight, but honestly if I was in that situation I'd probably opt for option #2 as well.
Most people who have/had private loans did so because they didn't qualify for FAFSA to determine that their federal loans covered room and board, but also didn't have enough saved to offset this cost. I think a lot of people are forgetting that, and a large group of people fall into that category.