Case 29: The Perils of Student Loan Debt
1. What are the ethical issues involved with student loans? How do these parallel issues that
were involved with the mortgage lending crisis of 2008/2009?
2. As a matter of public policy, should the federal government be getting involved in providing
these funds for education?
3. Who are the stakeholders involved in student lending?
4. Should large sums of money (tens of thousands of dollars) be loaned to students and parents
without any sort of credit check?
5. How can responsible lending take place in this sort of environment? Is it ethical and
responsible for private lenders to make such loans just because they are backed by taxpayers
money?
6. Should the federal government be involved in guaranteeing loans provided by private lending
groups? Why or why not?
7. Should student loan forgiveness be limited to situations where a college has engaged in
deceptive practices? If so, why should taxpayers be responsible for bad judgments being made?
8. What do you think about the IDRP and PSLF programs for student loan relief?