The Federal Reserve has reported that by the end of 2020, U.S. college students had amassed a record 1.7 trillion dollars in student debt.  The average student carries a debt load of almost forty thousand dollars.  Graduates trying to keep up with those monthly payments has ripple effects throughout the economy, with young people forestalling families, home ownership, taking unrewarding jobs or simply defaulting on their loans.  The issue has gotten the attention of elected officials, with some in Congress, such as Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren calling for elimination of up to 50,000 dollars in student debt, and President Joe Biden arguing for a more modest forgiveness of 10,000 dollars per student.  Bates College Philosophy Professor, Paul Schofield, however, argues that the government should just make taking on that much debt illegal.