Sunk Cost: Who’s to Blame for the Nation’s Broken Student Loan System and How to Fix It

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Jillian Berman

Sunk Cost

Who’s to Blame for the Nation’s Broken Student Loan System and How to Fix It

Jillian Berman

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English

University of Chicago Press
08 April 2025

Funding of education & student finance; Higher & further education, tertiary education; Education & the law

Exposes the forgotten origins of the student loan system, how politicians have attempted to fix it, and the life-altering damage borrowers face.

Student-loan horror stories are a dime a dozen. But students today are faced with a seemingly insurmountable paradox: Research consistently shows that the clearest viable option to financial stability is a college degree. But if and when Americans decide to pursue diplomas, student loan payments quickly follow, and even after securing full-time employment, many borrowers struggle to make ends meet for years. In Sunk Cost, journalist Jillian Berman explores how the nation's student loan program went from a well-intentioned initiative aimed at helping low- and middle-income students afford college to one that traps borrowers in long-term debt.

Berman interviewed dozens of borrowers and policymakers and dug into the archives to unearth the true causes of the student loan problem. A couple of generations ago, policy makers generously subsidized Americans' college educations because they knew it would be advantageous for the entire country: a more educated population meant better quality of life for all. But today, higher education is viewed as an individual goal, so students and their families are expected to be on the hook for it themselves. Berman explains how this enormous shift happened, which industries benefit from it, and what it means for college-going Americans today. She shares real-life stories of college graduates who are being crushed under some of the harshest consequences of the student loan system. These borrowers pursued higher education in hopes of a better life and yet some have been trapped in debt for decades, making it difficult to put food on the table, much less imagine a life beyond debt.

By connecting personal accounts to the policy history of student loans, Berman makes clear that if American society continues to push students toward higher education, but fails to truly subsidize it, the financial strain will become unbearable for all but the most privileged. The current system is broken, but Berman proposes that significant changes are possible, and will require political will from state lawmakers and Congress, along with a philosophical shift, to tackle one of the largest consumer finance challenges of our time.

By: Jillian Berman
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 626g
ISBN: 9780226821153
ISBN 10: 0226821153
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 08 April 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction: How Did We Get Here? 1. The GI Bill: America’s First Try at Subsidizing College Students 2. The Higher Education Act: When a Plan to “Open the Door to Education” Gets Complicated 3. The Pell Grant: What Happens When the Federal Government Cuts Support for College 4. States Pull Back: What Happens When States Cut Support for College Too 5. Credentialization: The Ever-Decreasing Value of a College Degree 6. Income-Driven Repayment: Why a Smart and Compassionate Idea Didn’t Provide Much Help 7. Extraordinary Collection Powers: When a Loan Meant to Help Causes Harm 8. Forgiveness: A Radical Solution Goes Mainstream Conclusion: Going Forward Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

Jillian Berman is an award-winning reporter at MarketWatch, where she has covered student debt for a decade. Before her time at MarketWatch, Jillian wrote about food and retail companies at HuffPost. Her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and USA Today.

Reviews for Sunk Cost: Who’s to Blame for the Nation’s Broken Student Loan System and How to Fix It

""Finally, the kind of reporting that this major economic and social driver of recent American history deserves. Student loan debt is shaping the present and future of America, and Jillian Berman shows how and why."" --Anna Sale, host of 'Death, Sex & Money' and author of 'Let's Talk About Hard Things' ""We all owe Jillian Berman a huge debt for her years of incisive reporting from the frontlines of the student loan crisis. Now her deep knowledge, insight, and empathy are on full display in this incredible and timely book. Read it to understand how we got here and why we can't afford not to cancel student debt.""--Astra Taylor, author of 'The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart'