NPR

Student Loans A Lot Like The Subprime Mortgage Debacle, Watchdog Says

Mike Calhoun rang the alarm bell early on about the subprime mortgage debacle — before reckless lending drove the economy into recession. These days, he's sounding the alarm about student loans.
Mike Calhoun talks about how student loans are forcing younger Americans to delay homeownership at a housing conference in September.

Mike Calhoun is a man on a mission. He's flying around the country, warning state lawmakers and prosecutors, sounding the alarm at conferences, and with members of Congress.

He did the same thing back before the housing market crash, warning then about reckless subprime loans. "We projected over 2 million subprime mortgage foreclosures, and the response was we were ridiculed by the industry," he says.

Of course, Calhoun was right. In fact, the wave of defaults and foreclosures was even worse and drove the economy into the worst recession

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