Thread by @MotherJones

1/ The US has a student debt problem. Since 2005, the number of borrowers has nearly doubled to 44.7 million Americans.

Even worse, the nation’s flagship loan forgiveness program is failing—and the Trump administration isn’t helping. Our investigation: bit.ly/2PaDYbY

2/ As @ryannliebenthal reports, the 2007 Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was intended to help borrowers working in public service jobs. After 10 years of payments, borrowers could have their remaining balance forgiven. bit.ly/2PaDYbY

3/ But the program is severely mismanaged, and has allegedly misled borrowers and lost track of payments. As a former Department of Education special adviser put it, "Borrowers are not the customer. Borrowers are the product.” bit.ly/2PaDYbY

4/ October 2017 marked the first time a cohort of PSLF participants could be forgiven. Yet of the almost 900,000 people who have submitted at least one payment to the program since 2012, fewer than 1,000 will be forgiven by the end of the ED's fiscal year. bit.ly/2PaDYbY

5/ Due to errors and delays, months of payments by one borrower weren't counted toward her 10-year requirement. After nearly 100 payments, with interest, she still owes the entire amount she initially borrowed. bit.ly/2PaDYbY

6/ Another borrower owed $341,000 at graduation and has paid back $35,000 so far. With interest, she owes $410,000 today. bit.ly/2PaDYbY

7/ Here’s what one attorney had to say about the student aid program: bit.ly/2PaDYbY

8/ Now, the Trump administration has begun disassembling one of the only checks on student loan servicers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, all while arguing that these companies are off-limits to state regulators. bit.ly/2PIg1d9

9/ Just today, a top student loan official at the CFPB resigned in protest of the Trump administration’s “misguided” policies and accused the bureau of having “abandoned the very consumers it is tasked by Congress with protecting.” bit.ly/2wkGKEl

10/ Meanwhile, colleges have jacked up fees and tuition costs to unprecedented highs. bit.ly/2PaDYbY

11/ And borrowers are still drowning in debt. bit.ly/2PaDYbY

12/ Try out our student debt calculator to see how much you’d eventually pay as a federal student loan borrower --> bit.ly/2Pc8JNM

13/ Do you have questions about student debt? Let us know here: bit.ly/2wtgtTF

14/14 And be sure to read @ryannliebenthal’s rage-inducing inside story of America’s student debt machine. Photos by Zach Gross: bit.ly/2PaDYbY