PBS NewsHour
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6 selected videos
Fighting the debt trap of triple-digit interest rate payday loans
Payday loans are supposed to be a short-term quick fix for those who can't get traditional credit. But the loans are rarely actually short-term, and borrowers frequently need to take out a second loan to pay off the first. Special correspondent Andrew Schmertz reports from South Dakota, where some state lawmakers are trying to cap triple-digit interest rates that many struggle to pay.
Related topics : quick loan short term / loan payday quick / interest rates loan
Student Loan Rates Double; What Are Long-Term Solutions?
Effective July 1, subsidized Stafford loan rates doubled from 3.4 to 6.8 percent, increasing costs for lower- to middle-income students. Gwen Ifill talks to New America Foundation's Kevin Carey and Anne Johnson of the Center for American Progress on whether Congress will propose long-term solutions to curb growing college debt.
Related topics : subsidized loan rate / student loan rates
Will forgiving loans offer long-term student debt solution?
The average person graduating from college in 2013 borrowed nearly $30,000 in student debt. To help Americans overburdened by their loans, President Obama signed a new executive order that expands on a 2010 law that capped federal loan repayments at 10 percent of borrowers' monthly income. Gwen Ifill talks to Richard Vedder of Ohio University and Deanne Loonin of the National Consumer Law Center.
Related topics : debt student loan
Why student debt is ‘a crisis’ for some borrowers
Student debt has been a prominent topic during this year's presidential campaign, with several candidates touting plans for tuition-free college. Indeed, more than 40 million Americans carry debt from student loans, totaling around $1.3 trillion nationally. While the median debt is about $27,000, people who owe less than $10,000 are the most likely to default. Marketplace’s Lizzie O’Leary reports.
Related topics : debt student loan
Student Loans: More Debt, More Defaults, More Problems
Americans owe $1 trillion in student loan debt. How did that happen, and what's the impact on the nation's economy? Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports as part of his Making Sen$e of financial news series.
Related topics : debt student loan
Student Loan Debt: To Pay or Not to Pay?
In his second report this week on student lending, economics correspondent Paul Solman examines the challenges that indebted college graduates face and the debate over whether to forgive some or all of their loan burden.
Related topics : loan pay student
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