He analyzed four hypothetical scenerious to determine lifetime disposable income of 18-year olds:

1)      One who borrows $30,000 a year to attend a four-year college.
2)      One who borrows $15,000 a year for four years.
3)      One who graduates debt-free.
4)      A high school graduate.

Student Loan Debt

What Kotlikoff found:

Using the starting salary of $45,000, all the college graduates ended up with more disposable income than workers with just a high school diploma. (This study does not include those who went to a tech school or obtained an associate’s degree or apprenticeship somewhere.)

The college graduate who borrowed only $15,000 a year ended up with 4.4% more spending money than the one who borrowed $30,000 a year.  (Obviously, the more you borrow the more you will pay back-with interest.)

The college graduate who graduated debt-free had nearly 9% more disposable income than the one who borrowed $30,000 a year. (Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone had access to a free education or at least a rich grandparent?)

But get THIS…

If the heavy borrower earned the same median income as a high school graduate immediately after college, which is $28,000, the graduate’s spending power would be 16% lower than that of the high school graduate!

Kotlikoff’s final conclusion…

Because it’s nearly impossible for a borrower to discharge student loans through bankruptcy, the debt just keeps accumulating –even if the borrow can’t make payments. “It’s like a debtor’s prison for life,” he says.

Some Illinois State University students were not in class today because the science lab at the university was closed for a death investigation.
Part of the third floor of the Science Laboratory Building was closed for about two hours when the mother of a man in his 30s found his body in the chemistry lab shortly before 8:30 a.m. Coroner Beth Kimmerling says the man, who she wouldn’t identify, graduated with a master’s degree in Chemistry. His mother says he had been despondent because he hadn’t found a job in a year and had school loans he couldn’t pay. Kimmerling says the man had made some statements to his mother last night about possibly harming himself.

ISU Police Chief Ron confirms there were no signs of foul play. Kimmerling says she’ll know more when toxicology tests are back in a few weeks. Meanwhil, the administration is making sure students know counseling is available.

Russian Mafia

I’d rather get caught stealing from the Russian mafia than have a student loan riding my back. Student loan companies are unforgiving, oppressive, and incredibly easy to obtain. It’s easier to get a student loan than it is to get a home loan!
Student loan borrowers leave college with an average debt of $20,000.00. But while the interest increases, they end up owing thousands more than they borrowed taking a decade or more to repay. If you fall in this category you will end up as a “wage slave” spending a major portion of your wage-toiling years digging out from under a giant pile of debt. Some borrowers never make it. They never “capitalize” from their college education and are never able to repay their bloated loans which have spiraled into a perpetual state of deferment.
Defaulting on a student loan (even in the case of terminal illness, bankruptcy or even death) is just another opportunity for the loan company to screw you harder. Sallie May, the most corrupt student loan shark of all has recently gone into the debt-collection business. They’ll pretty much come to your house and bust your knee caps. They will go after your family and dependents. And they will reap even more interest and fees of up to 20 percent of the balance from defaulted borrowers. Student loans are the worst of all education rackets.

Take a look at some of the websites dedicated to the victims of student loans:
http://studentloanjustice.org
http://www.salliemaenot.com/
http://www.studentloanslave.org/