Dollars And Sense: The Student-Debt Crisis In America

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — College tuition is higher than ever, and earning a college degree has become a huge investment.

CBS2's Jeff Vaughn takes a look at two young professionals who are in a huge hole.

Meg Gifford and Daniel Dominguez are just two of more than 43 million Americans with student-loan debt totaling $1.3 trillion. Gifford earned degrees from both the University of Nebraska and UCLA and is now working as a chemistry professor. She says she has round $100,000 in debt and has to pay $1,100 a month for the next 10 years.

"It effects everything; it's so stressful," Gifford said.

Dominguez graduated from Loyola Marymount and is now a TV screenwriter. His debt is around $200,000.

"If I could do it all over again I probably wouldn't go to college," Dominguez said.

"When you go into school, that is a financial decision, and in any financial decision you need to be able to sit down and think about what the return on your investment is going to be," said Jay Fleischman, student loan-resolution attorney.

On Wednesday, Vaughn sat down with Fleischman and took questions on the debt crisis in a Facbook Live forum.

PART 2

What if there was a way to pay your tuition while earning some extra cash?

Well, that's exactly what several major firms are doing. Companies like Chipotle are offering part-time jobs with full-time perks.

Jeff Vaughn has the details

PART 3

Vaughn takes a look at how scammers prey on those in debt.