The Myth of Student Debt: Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics
As school season kicks off, we at Smead Capital Management have been perplexed by the logic and reasoning over the student debt debate in America. There is a consensus in the investment markets today believing that student debt is a major credit problem rivaling other credit problems that were disastrous over the last 30 years. Much like Billy Madison had to prove to his father that he wasn’t completely helpless, today’s students have the daunting task of not only affording college and graduate education, but also finding ways to pay it off over the next 20 years. Billy had to hope to not pick a fight. We don’t have the same sentiment because as contrarians we have to find problems and contentious companies/industries. This seeks to explain the lies, damn lies and the statistics surrounding the student debt myth in the United States.