HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): NPR: Buried In Debt, Young People Find Dreams Elusive.

At 30 years old, Holshue exemplifies a key tenet of the American dream: exceeding one’s parents’ education and income.

“My dad never finished high school,” she says. “So in that sense, I am doing better than my parents did.”

Holshue’s father is a school bus driver, and her mother, a teacher. At this early stage in her career, Holshue is already making more money than her parents make after decades of working.

Even so, all her credentials came at a cost. Holshue’s student loans for her bachelor’s and nursing degrees total $140,000.

“I think at last count there was something like 20 different loans,” she says, paging through a thick binder of loan statements.

Holshue says she’s in debt more than her parents ever were when they bought their house. In fact, her monthly student loan payment of $1,100 is nearly as much as her rent.

“The first of the month, I might have $100 to live on for two weeks. Which doesn’t even pay my transportation cost,” Holshue says.

Alas, not that hard to believe.