An estimated 20 million Americans attend college each year, and 60% of these students borrow annually to pay for it (qtd. in asa.org, "Student Loan Debt Statistics". Additionally, citizens who continue to repay debt after school bring the overall number of student loan borrowers to approximately 40 million, with a collective debt of $1 trillion (McCarthy, “10 Fun Facts About the Student Debt Crisis); a quarter of these borrowers owe more than $28,000, a tenth owe more than $54,000, 3.1% owe more than $100,000, “and 0.45% of borrowers, or 167,000 people, owe more than $200,000” (Haughwout , “Grading Student Loans”). While some see this situation as the result of laziness or carelessness, the majority of this sizeable group are not to blame. Low-wage jobs, underemployment, and high unemployment rates have forced individuals striving for the “American Dream,” upward class mobility, and greater education to choose debt, often at prices they cannot and will not they will be able to afford. The huge amount of borrowed money is not only harming individuals' lives, productivity and living standards, but also the economy, and it needs to be addressed. With society's emphasis on the need to get a college education to gain affluence - a paying job, be considered successful, and have a higher quality of life, everyone wants a college degree, and many try. However, the typical middle-class family cannot afford to attend college without incurring moderate debt and depending largely on scholarships and grants to send to themselves or their children. Lower-class families have enormous difficulty obtaining a college degree, living in low-income neighborhoods with poor public schools does not produce competitiveness... middle of the paper... they are young adults living in their parents' home." Pew Research and Social and Demographic Trends. Pew Research Center, August 1, 2013. Web. April 4, 2014. Gage, Caroline Salas, Janet Lorin. “Student Loans, the Next Big Threat to the U.S. Economy?” Bloomberg Business Week. Bloomberg, January 16, 2014. Web. April 5, 2014. Haughwout, Andrew, Meta Brown, Donghoon Lee, Maricar Mabutas, Wilbert van der Klaauw. “Student Loan Evaluation.” of New York, March 5, 2012. Web. April 4, 2014. McCarthy, Kyle. “10 Fun Facts About the Student Debt Crisis.” student loan debt." ASA.org. American Student Assistance. Network. April 4, 2014. "What is the Price of a College Education?" University Data. The National Association for College Admissions Counseling . Network. 6 April. 2014.