[AJ007]

A few disconnected thoughts:

It is worth noting that without the current low interest rate environment, subprime loans would be a lot more expensive or just wouldn't not exist.

There certainly is a balance of responsibilities both among the borrower and the lender. Presumably the lender is the most educated of the two parties, especially in a sub prime situation where the borrower may not even be at a high school math level.

Lenders should not expect to be able to give extend unlimited amounts of capital and use a taxpayer funded legal system to recover it. Bankruptcy on the borrowers side is definitely a very important tool to keeping things somewhat fair. Most young people now see what a catastrophe that can cause in the case of student loans, a whole generation or two facing a very grim financial future short of massive inflation or winning the lottery.

Nothing is perfect and I imagine solutions will introduce their own downsides. Future car use probably won't even be a loan or a lease but rather a license to use a vehicle at a given time. That system could apply to a lot more than vehicles 10 years from now.

[dsfyu404ed]

"Most young people now see what a catastrophe that can cause in the case of student loans, a whole generation or two facing a very grim financial future short of massive inflation or winning the lottery."

The problem with student loans is that you can't bankruptcy them out of existence.

[dragonwriter]

> The problem with student loans is that you can't bankruptcy them out of existence.

This is a pervasive myth, but, while they are harder to discharge than most other unsecured debt, they can be discharged in bankruptcy.