What are the pros and cons of allowing student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy?

With presidential candidates calling for an end to the crushing burden of student debt, some higher education experts have again questioned the federal policy that makes it nearly impossible to discharge student loans in bankruptcy, especially at a time when student loans now comprise the second largest form of consumer debt behind home mortgages. Some argue that allowing the dischargeability of student loans in bankruptcy makes sense both as economic policy and education policy because, as a nation, we want an educated populace as well as the increased earning power and employment opportunities that accompany a college degree.

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