Universités américaines : le cauchemar de la dette étudiante I Reporters • FRANCE 24

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://f24.my/youtube LIVE - Follow FRANCE 24 here: http://f24.my/YTliveFR In the United States, millions of students are forced to take on heavy debt to finance their higher education. Alone or with their families, they borrow tens of thousands of dollars over several years, but they are often unable to repay their debts upon graduation and are forced to start their working lives already in debt. Our reporters Gallagher Fenwick and Philip Crowther met them. Reporting on student debt means reaching out to all of America, because the phenomenon spares almost no one. According to the Department of Education, at least 40 million Americans took out a bank loan in 2015 to finance their college education. Their average loan amount is $30,000. These people are generally not poor, but rather cornered and hampered by a burden that prevents them from moving forward in their lives. They don't have time to explore their possibilities, to look for their dream job, or even to start a family or take out a mortgage. As soon as they graduate, these students must seek to earn money to avoid being overwhelmed by the rapidly accumulating interest and to avoid getting caught in a downward spiral. An "Out of Control" System Last February, rapper Dee-1 even wrote a song about it. David Augustine Jr., a 27-year-old student who graduated from the University of Louisiana in 2009, had finally paid off his student loan. He sang of his joy and denounced the "out of control" student loan system. His music video, posted on social media, was viewed more than a million times in one week. The Washington Post even called it "the anthem of a generation." Total student loans owed by American students now stand at $1.2 trillion, according to Federal Reserve statistics. That's more than the total debt on U.S. credit cards. Student debt is one of the biggest economic challenges facing the United States. But it has also become a political issue, in the midst of the election campaign. Aspiring presidential candidates have not hesitated to seize on it. Democrat Bernie Sanders, in particular, proposes free tuition at public universities. Faced with stagnant salaries and ever-rising tuition fees, his message appeals to many young and old. #Reporters #UnitedStates Our website: http://www.france24.com/fr/ Join us on Facebook:   / france24.videos   Follow us on Twitter:   / f24videos