Get spiked by email. Today, we are forever scrutinising our dialogue and conversation, looking out for offensive and insulting content. Of course, words, especially demeaning or degrading ones, have always had the capacity to hurt peopleâs feelings. But itâs different today.
Observers have ruminated on the potential value of the works at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the city's collection of classic cars, even its zoo animals. But the sale of any of those assets would just be a drop in the bucket. At $18 billion, Detroit's staggering debt is simply a lot to wrap one's head around. Even the city couldn't fully comprehend the magnitude, it seems, until Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr actually went ahead and filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. How could a city of 701,475 people rack up $18 billion in debt?
The nation's college students set another record for debt in 2015, according to the latest annual report of The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS). Fully 68% of graduating seniors had student loans, and their average debt load rose 4% over the previous year's record to $30,100. That means the majority of new college graduates are facing monthly student loan payments in excess of $300 a month over the next 10 years. Especially worrisome: 19% of those loans were private debts, which are loans issued by private companies such as banks, instead of the standard student loans issued by the federal government.