Student loan debt runs to about $30,000 per graduate of the class of 2013, as Phil Izzo writes in the Wall Street Journal.  And the total amount of student loans outstanding runs to almost a trillion dollars: more than either credit card balances or automobile loans.  More than any form of consumer debt other than home mortgages.

The struggle to pay off this debt has led many recent graduates to put off getting married, buying homes, and starting families.