... federal student loans, which are the largest single source of college debt, representing more than 92 percent of outstanding student loan balances.
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-postsecond...
The way federal student loans work right now (auto-approved at high interest rates with no cap or restrictions on degree program) basically ensured a generation of Americans were bound to wage-slavery.
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/opinion/wells-fargo-se...
That was the instance they were caught for mortgages, but it's happened infamously and recently in auto loans, farm loans, and business loans also. It's unlikely that covert discrimination wouldn't then extend to student loans.
While that likely phenomenon is hidden, what does happen out in the open is that interest rates are higher for people who live in majority-black neighborhoods, which also correlates to a higher default rate. That means one of two things. The intent could be to discriminate against black people by suffusing the loan terms with America's general distrust of black people (and considering the history of racism in lending across all loan types, I don't doubt that this is the case). Alternatively, non-black people in majority-black neighborhoods might be subject to the same high rates; in that case, direct discrimination isn't taking place, but it shows that the banks are setting rates knowing that they'll result in higher interest payments and defaults.
Unfortunately, there's no way to know because the banks refuse to reveal their formulas or allow matched pair testing.
That's also why Obamacare had to be this rube goldberg public/private complication.
Since we only have selfish humans, they'll always work for their own good - whether it's profit motive in an open market, or political power and attached financial benefits.
Jeez, imagine how easy society would be if we could actually create government programs 'purely for the public good'. I'd love to live in a world where everything didn't become as corrupt as it structurally can.
It's ironic that in much of the world this is the case. Specifically, in this thread the Canadian system was mentioned and the Australian system is similar.
In Canada, the vast majority of student loans are taken out directly from the government. You can't declare bankruptcy on a government-issued student loan until seven years after the last day you were a full-time student. After the seven year timer runs out, it's treated the same as any other unsecured debt and you can include it in a bankruptcy (equivalent to a Chapter 7 in the US) or a consumer proposal (equivalent to a Chapter 13 in the US).
Private student loans also exist, but unlike government loans they have no special protection - you can go bankrupt on them just like any other type of unsecured debt at any time. For this reason, private lenders almost always require a cosigner for these types of loans.