As Prof. Nathalie Martin noted, the ABI has an upcoming conference on student loans. For those more interested in policy than straight up bankruptcy law, the St. Louis Federal Reserve will host a one day conference on the state of student loans in America on November 18. The conference, “Generation Debt: The Promise, Perils and Future of
Student Loans,” comes on the heels of a report issued by the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau outlining the similarities between the student loan crisis and the recent financial meltdown. The Fed’s involvement as a leading research institution–on student lending is great news.
Policy makers, academics and students (young adults) need
frank and honest discussions about education finance. But young people’s economic vulnerability in
this country is about much more than student loans; this generation
faces critical junctures as they secure jobs (or not), marry and form
families (or not) and pursue and pay for higher education (or not). The Fed’s conference will hopefully offer a more multi-dimensional
view into young adults and their financially fragile status than many of
the high-profile articles that focus singularly on the role of student
loan debt.