Young physicians are avoiding careers in lower-paying specialties, from pediatrics to psychiatry, even though our country needs more of them. Ultimately, as specialists remain in urban centers where jobs are more plentiful, rural areas and smaller cities suffer. If student debt is a problem for doctors, imagine what it is like for nurses, teachers and other graduates whose incomes are far lower. I’d like to think that the weight of student loans is giving doctors and others greater insight into the crisis of income inequality. The mere fact that student debt is causing the highest earners to struggle should awaken us to the severity of the situation.

Source: New York Times August 20, 2018 15:00 UTC