Another crisis looming in the air… Student debt is going to be the next big hurdle to deal with in the U.S.’s economic recovery . Total student loan debt currently stands very close to $1.0 trillion and defaults on these loans are increasing at an alarming rate, placing more pressure on economic growth. In the third quarter of 2012, student loans delinquent over 90 days stood at an alarming 11%. (Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, November 2012.) I expect this delinquency rate and default rate to rise. It’s not rocket science: there is no economic recovery or real economic growth. Americans are still suffering. The more they suffer, the more they fall back on their loan payments. Thus, how can students get a break? Here is what the U.S. secretary of Education Arne Duncan said about the looming student debt crisis: “We continue to be concerned about the default rates and want to ensure that all borrowers have the tools to manage their debt. In addition to helping borrowers, we will also hold schools accountable for ensuring their students are not saddled with unmanageable student loan debt.” (Source: U.S. Department of Education, “Press Release: First Official Three-year Student Loan Default Rates Published,” September 28, 2012.) According to a recent survey by Fannie Mae, 20% of respondents believe their financial condition is going to get worse over the next 12 months—this is the highest percentage of people with this opinion since August 2011. In addition, 36% of the respondents reported a significant increase in their household expenses over the past 12 months. (Source: Fannie Mae, January 7, 2013.) Inflation? Definitely not economic growth. From what I see, dear reader, for 2013, the U.S. economy won’t be seeing any economic growth. Could the current chanting about an economic recovery by the politicians be a hoax? If we were experiencing an economic recovery, or if there was economic growth, there simply wouldn’t be millions and millions of Americans unemployed, and they wouldn’t be expecting their pockets to shrink in size in the next 12 months as the Fannie Mae survey indicates. As the suffering of Americans continues due to a lack of economic growth , those students who have these student loans will eventually need to default on their loans due to their inability to find a job. Michael’s Personal Notes : In the past few weeks, there has been an influx of negative news about gold prices . News headlines vary, but, at the end of the day, it seems they all are against the yellow metal. The London Bullion Market Association’s poll undertaken in late 2012 went as far as saying, “bull market in gold ... Read More