College Debt

I was at the Mansfield Community Center exercising and because of an inflamed knee, I was using a glider instead of a bike to burn some calories. The ladies exercising next to me were discussing a law school nephew's college debt.

"Why the interest alone is outrageous! And she needs nice suits and dry cleaning and..." It's a common theme amongst college aged students, parents , and interested observers. And with the stock market meltdown in the past few months, even higher education credit is more difficult to get. Even Congress is concerned.

A few months ago, Education Portal reported a study of how much debt students take on.

According to the Project on Student Debt Report, graduates are leaving college with more student debt than ever before. The result is that starting salaries are no longer keeping pace with the debt.

Between 2005 and 2006, average student loan debt increased 8 percent. In comparison, staring salaries increased by only 4 percent. The worry is that it will become more difficult for graduates to manage debt and pay it off in a timely fashion.

It is popular for presidential candidates to advocate more pay for teachers but teachers are not the only ones whose salaries need attention. And in some cases teachers are farther down the list than they will honestly admit.