The parade of graduation commencement speakers starts soon, and hopefully Rick Rieder wonâ??t be among them. Because the message from BlackRockâ??s chief investment officer of fundamental fixed income to all those fresh-scrubbed graduates would be a big downer: Your student debt could cripple the U.S. economy.
Rieder doesnâ??t actually blame college grads for student debt reaching almost $1.2 trillion last year, its highest level ever. Itâ??s what they and their parents must borrow to pay for collegeâ??what he calls â??this long-term unmitigated acceleration in the costâ?â??that he targets. Itâ??s something people should be concerned about even if no tuition or student loan looms in their future, he says. Rieder cites four interrelated reasons why college debt could hurt economic growth.
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