The crisis of student loans is real, no matter what pundits tell you

A recent report downplays a generation's $1tn crisis, using misleading data on a problem shackling the economy at large

A Brookings Institution report this week downplayed the impact of rising student loan debt, implying that there is no crisis and much of the worry is misplaced. Because most people with student debt don’t believe their problems only exist in their heads, the report has spurred a contentious debate, particularly about its methods.

That's bad enough. The bigger question about the report should concern its scope: the larger economic forces that are holding back the financial progress of people with student loans.