Student loan debt hanging over many Mass. residents

The Boston Globe reports:

Almost half of Massachusetts residents have at least a bachelor’s degree, but the cost of that education is a growing challenge, particularly in lower-income communities, according to a new community survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Student loan debt climbed two spots from last fall to become the sixth-biggest concern among social service providers in New England, surpassing worries about K-12 education and federal budget cuts, according to the survey.

“The problem isn’t just the existence of debt but the amount of debt as the cost of higher education continues to outpace inflation and does not appear to be slowing,” the report found.

The survey, conducted twice a year, measures the pulse of 135 groups that work in economic development, affordable housing, and human services throughout New England. Overall, the survey found that these groups were optimistic about the region’s economy, with nearly three-quarters of them expecting New England to add jobs over the next five years.

The region’s concentration of colleges and universities also should help ensure that “the right workers for the right jobs [are] well within the reach in New England as regional and local economic development efforts gain momentum.”

The greed of higher education on display.