It's been more than 150 years since the U.S. abolished debtor prisons.  But that hasn't stopped private debt collection companies from using the fearsome power of the federal government to drag people into court because they've defaulted on their student loans.

Fox 26:

Paul Aker says he was arrested at his home last week for a $1500 federal student loan  he received in 1987.

He says seven deputy US Marshals showed up at his home with guns and took him to federal court where he had to sign a payment plan for the 29-year-old school  loan .

Congressman Gene Green says the federal government is now using private debt collectors to go after those who owe student loans .

Green says as a result, those attorneys and debt collectors are getting judgements in federal court and asking judges to use the US Marshals Service to arrest those who have failed to pay their federal student loans.

Our reliable  source with the US Marshal in Houston say Aker isn't the first and won't be the last.

They have to serve anywhere from 1200 to 1500 warrants to people who have failed to pay their federal student loans.

Let's all agree that these deadbeats should have to pay back the loans that were guaranteed by the government, as well as those loans that came directly from taxpayer funds.  And let's give a small cheer to the notion that private debt collectors going after these hard cases is a pretty good idea.

But the intimidation factor of sending armed government agents to a home in order collect a student debt?  Overkill, wouldn't you say?

There's about a trillion dollars in education loans that are either in default or nearly so.  What do you think socialist Bernie Sanders or panderer Hillary Clinton would do about the crisis if either won the presidency?

No doubt both would pull a Houdini and make the debt disappear – at taxpayer expense.