reading david cay johnstons free lunch, he says student debt was unheard of in the 50s, 60s, and most of the 70s. some part of hte US govt said that hundreds of millions of dollars that 1 of the student loan corporations got was illegitimate, but the govt didnt want to go after the 1 because then it would have to go after more of them. meanwhile, students can only declare bankruptcy on student debt if they die, or if they can prove they are permanently disabled.