In the US, student debt, now in excess of $1.2 trillion (more than all credit-card debt), is becoming a burden for graduates and the economy. America’s failed financial model for higher education is one of the reasons that, among the advanced countries, America now has the least equality of opportunity, with the life prospects of a young American more dependent on his or her parents’ income and education than in other advanced countries.
澳大利亚与美国可谓对比鲜明。在美国，学生债务目前已超1.2万亿美元（比信用卡债务还要高），成为毕业生和经济的一大负担。美国的机会平等状况��发达国家中垫底，与其他发达国家相比，美国年轻人的生活前景更多地取决于父母亲的收入和教育，之所以如此，失败的高等教育金融模式难辞其咎。