Student debt is a problem.  In 2019, Americans owed $1.56 trillion on student loans.  Undeterred, every year, students pile on more debt.

One study holds that while students who graduated in 1993 had an average loan debt of $9,320, students in the class of 2019 had an average loan debt of $29,900, a 221% increase.  Over the same period of time, inflation grew by only 79%.

This increase is due, in significant part, to free money, which has made both universities and students go on spending sprees.  FEE explains:

Secured financing of student loans resulted in a surge of students applying for college. This increase in demand was, in turn, met with an increase in price because university administrators would charge more if people were willing to pay it, just as any other business would (though to be fair, student loans do require more administration staff for processing).  According to Forbes, the average price of tuition has increased eight times faster than wages since the 1980s.

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Financially, it makes no sense to take out a $165,000 loan for a master's degree that leads to a job where the average annual salary is $38,000 — yet thousands of young people are making this choice. Only when they graduate do they understand the reality of their situation as they live paycheck-to-paycheck and find it next-to-impossible to save for a home, retirement, or even a rainy-day fund.

Bankruptcy does not help those burdened with student loans, since the loans are non-dischargeable.  The debt can follow students forever, blighting their lives.

There are several sensible solutions.  Pulling all federal funds out of education would shrink the number of dollars available overall, forcing schools to cut back on extravagant diversity departments, silly politically correct majors, and designer dorms.

The culture could shift away from making kids believe that a college degree is the magic answer to their future.  Mike Rowe is working hard to help young people realize that a practical trade can be more remunerative over the years — and we need all the practical people we can get.

Because the education a kid receives is the only real "security" for a loan, colleges could be required to guarantee all or part of loans.  This would give them skin in the game when it comes to educating kids, kicking out kids who don't belong in academia, and helping kids get post-graduation jobs.

Bernie Sanders, the angry old man whom students educated in Leftist institutions think of as a new prophet and who is currently leading among young voters by a wide margin, has a better idea: put American taxpayers on the hook for all existing loans and then have them fund an ever-expanding academic industrial complex:

This is a campaign for students.

We are going to cancel ALL student debt.

We are going to make public colleges, universities and trade schools tuition- and debt-free.

We are going to ensure young people have a livable planet with a Green New Deal. https://t.co/kI6GLLYUoF

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 12, 2020

To understand how stupid this is, a few words about our national debt.  First, it's not a "national" debt at all — it's your and my debt.  Government creates no wealth.  It only takes money from taxpayers who create wealth through innovation and hard work.  Our debt stands at ≅$23 trillion, an amount equal to a stack of $1,000 bills reaching 1,548 miles into space.  As of this minute, every single American holds a debt of $69,697.

Moreover, even if the government stopped spending right now, we're still going deeper in the hole.  Why?  Because of interest.  Of the money the government owes, $18 trillion is public debt, with interest growing at the rate of about $479 billion per year.

Meanwhile, in 2018, which was a good tax year thanks to Trump's economic boom, Americans were able to cough up $3.33 trillion in taxes, even as the government plans to spend $1.3 trillion in 2020.  If you're thinking the math doesn't add up, you're right.

In that context, think about Bernie's plan: it would instantly bring the total national debt to $24.5 trillion, increasing to $74,242 the amount every American must pay to settle the existing debt.  In addition, it was estimated in 2017 that Bernie's "free" education plan would add $47 billion to the annual federal budget.

Taxpayers understand that Bernie's plan to wipe out debt and do away with tuition is a disaster in the making.  The problem is that college students, almost all educated in hard Left institutions that dismiss inexorable economic principles, think it's a wonderful idea.  It's therefore important to remember that, if the kids raised on unicorn dust economics are more enthusiastic about voting than you are, Americans are in for a world of future economic hurt.