New Fed chair doesn’t understand why student debt can’t be discharged in bankruptcy
By Jillian Berman
Published: Mar 4, 2018 11:22 am ET
‘Alone among all kinds of debt, we don’t allow student loan debt to be discharged in bankruptcy’
Federal Reserve Board chairman Jerome Powell testified during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday.
The new chairman of the Federal Reserve questioned why struggling borrowers can’t discharge their student loans in bankruptcy.
“Alone among all kinds of debt, we don’t allow student loan debt to be discharged in bankruptcy,” Jerome Powell told members of the Senate Banking Committee Thursday. “I’d be at a loss to explain why that should be the case.”
Powell’s comments came in response to a question from Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, about whether high levels of student debt create a drag on the economy. More than 40 million Americans hold nearly $1.4 trillion in outstanding student loans.
While Powell noted that, in general, policymakers should foster the idea that Americans can borrow to invest in themselves, he said it’s important that borrowers understand the nature and
https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/guid/98C2EF2E-1D84-11E8-AFF8-7834937E5386
By Jillian Berman
Published: Mar 4, 2018 11:22 am ET
‘Alone among all kinds of debt, we don’t allow student loan debt to be discharged in bankruptcy’
Federal Reserve Board chairman Jerome Powell testified during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday.
The new chairman of the Federal Reserve questioned why struggling borrowers can’t discharge their student loans in bankruptcy.
“Alone among all kinds of debt, we don’t allow student loan debt to be discharged in bankruptcy,” Jerome Powell told members of the Senate Banking Committee Thursday. “I’d be at a loss to explain why that should be the case.”
Powell’s comments came in response to a question from Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, about whether high levels of student debt create a drag on the economy. More than 40 million Americans hold nearly $1.4 trillion in outstanding student loans.
While Powell noted that, in general, policymakers should foster the idea that Americans can borrow to invest in themselves, he said it’s important that borrowers understand the nature and
https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/guid/98C2EF2E-1D84-11E8-AFF8-7834937E5386