Student-Loan Debt Is Strangling Gen X

This episode of The Journal explores the financial struggles of Generation X, who are burdened with the highest average student loan debt per borrower, even more than millennials. The podcast traces the history of student loans back to the Higher Education Act of 1965, which promised better job opportunities through college education, but Gen X became an "experimental generation" that tested this theory as college costs quadrupled. The episode features Rick Bettenker, a Gen Xer with over $300,000 in student debt, who shares his experience of being encouraged to take out loans and later facing difficulties due to accruing interest and shifting government policies, including pauses and proposed forgiveness plans. The episode further discusses the impact of these debts on Gen X's retirement savings and their changing perspectives on the value of higher education for their children.