Student Loan Debt

Five themes from Fighting Bob Fest

On the heels of legislation introduced by Rep. Mark Pocan that would allow anyone with federal student loans to refinance them to the lowest interest rates available. [Capital Times]

Pocan Introduces Student Loan Refinancing Bill

Scot Ross said Pocan's proposal is a common sense approach. “Why should student loans not be able to take advantage of lower interest rates?” [Wisconsin Public Radio]

Fewer Young Americans Have Full-Time Jobs Now Than Last Year

A recent survey from One Wisconsin Institute, a communication network for Wisconsin progressives, found that it will take the average student loan borrower more than 21 years to completely pay off their debt. [Alfred Woody]

Debt shuts students out of housing market

Americans paying off student loans are, depending on income, 25 to 36 percent less likely to own a home than those who are free of student debt, a One Wisconsin Now survey of 61,000 people found last month. Indebted graduates faced an average of 21 years of debt before their student loans were paid off. [Telegram]

Student Loan Debt Keeps Buyers Out of the Market

The homeownership rate for those individuals who are still paying off student loans is 36 percent lower than among their peers who have no student debt, according to research from the One Wisconsin Institute [LA Times]

Ward warns of problems posed by tuition freezes

Scot Ross with One Wisconsin Now said “the sentiment expressed by Ward shows a substantial disconnect about financing higher education and the impact of exploding debt on borrowers.” [Wisconsin Radio Network]

Senate to take up student loans, resuming partisan debate

The problem of student loan debt “has been wildly under-covered,” said Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now, whose group has been very vocal on the issue and opposes the GOP plan for letting interest rates on student loans float. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

Wither Sen. Johnson?

With the U.S. Senate moving toward acting on legislation to repeal the increase in interest rates on federal student loans, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson has fallen strangely silent.

Congress should reverse rate hike on student loans

The growing share of debt for young people is hampering their ability to take out a mortgage or purchase a car, according to Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

We must hate our children

It’s no wonder that people who’ve paid off their student loan debt are 36 percent more likely to own homes than those who haven’t, according to new research by the One Wisconsin Now Institute and Progress Now. [Salon]

Weighing the impact of higher student loan rates

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross says the increase will have a dramatic effect on current students, by making it harder for many of them to afford college. [Wisconsin Public Radio]

The Cost of Student Loan Debt, Part II

One Wisconsin Now sat down with individuals affected by student loan debt. Their personal stories are a reminder about how this trillion dollar debt crisis has a major impact on the whole nation.

The Cost of Student Loan Debt, Part I

One Wisconsin Now sat down with folks from Wisconsin and progressive leaders to discuss their personal experiences with the student loan debt crisis.

Student Loan Interest Rates Set to Double Unless Congress Acts

“Student loan debt is well over $1.2 trillion. Student loan debt passes every other consumer debt in the United States with the exception of mortgage debt. And student loan debt increased for people during the great recession,” Ross says. [Milwaukee Public Radio]

Two Trillion Dollars Here We Come

It looks like Congressional inaction means that vice will squeeze even harder on the next year's students and their families.

Student Debt Repayment Causes Concern Among Many Borrowers

On average, student loan borrowers take about two decades to repay their debt. Graduates of community colleges take almost as long as their counterparts from four-year schools to repay, according to a separate survey from the One Wisconsin Institute released last week. [Huffington Post]

Walker’s Choice: Millionaires or the Middle Class

As Gov. Scott Walker ponders his vetoes to the 2013 state budget, a $30 million tax break with no income limits, worth up to $10,000, for parents already sending their children to private schools should be on the list.

Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Looms

One Wisconsin Institute today joined U.S. Representative Gwen Moore, students and higher education advocates at an event exposing the disastrous consequences of allowing federal student loan interest rates to double on July 1.