Student Debt--Tell us more.

I find myself being increasingly annoyed with the discussion of student debt--how much it is and how long it will take to pay off. There is debt, and there is student debt. The latter should be viewed as an investment made by a student against future earnings, but it is always presented as some drag on the economy or some indicator of unfairness in the game of life. But I need to know more before I can decide about whether or not student debt is a "problem." Questions: (1) What are the majors of students who leave college with debt? Are they in the potentially high-paying professional programs like medicine, law, and some STEM degrees. Or are they headed toward modest entry-level jobs, or modest paying professions in elementary school teaching, or social work.  (2) What are the socio-economic backgrounds of the debtors, especially parental income. Do they have parents who are professionals with high incomes, or are their parents in occupations with modest incomes?

In short, the student debt syndrome is used to hide important differences among college graduates, and to float proposals such as "make college free" that will great for privileged class students heading to elite schools with high tuitions.

So before we are stampeded by the fear of "student debt " the agencies that collect such data should tell us more and then maybe we can shape proposals that will help those with greatest need.