This Just In: The Debt Trap

Since 1981 the student loan industry has helped to put generations of Americans into $1.5 trillion in student debt. In The Debt Trap, Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Mitchell tells the untold story of scandals, scams, predatory actors, and government malpractice that have created the behemoth student loan industry.

Mitchell’s book details the statistics (the amount of money and borrowers) but also highlights stories of the countless student victims ensnared by an exploitative system that depends on their debt. Mitchell also draws parallels to the housing crisis in the late 2000s, showing the catastrophic consequences student debt has had on families and the nation’s future.

Josh Mitchell is a reporter in the Washington bureau of The Wall Street Journal, writing about the economy and higher education.