You Have To Pay It Somehow...

This does not surprise me:

Saddled with piles of student debt and a job-scarce, lackluster economy, current college students and recent graduates are selling themselves to pursue a diploma or pay down their loans. An increasing number, according to the the owners of websites that broker such hook-ups, have taken to the web in search of online suitors or wealthy benefactors who, in exchange for sex, companionship, or both, might help with the bills.

The past few years have taken an especially brutal toll on the plans and expectations of 20-somethings. As unemployment rates tick steadily higher, starting salaries have plummeted. Meanwhile, according to Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a professor of psychology at Clark University, about 85 percent of the class of 2011 will likely move back in with their parents during some period of their post-college years, compared with 40 percent a decade ago.

Besides moving back home, many 20-somethings are beginning their adult lives shouldering substantial amounts of student loan debt.  According to Mark Kantrowitz, who publishes the financial aid websites Fastweb.com and Finaid.org, while the average 2011 graduate finished school with about $27,200 in debt, many are straining to pay off significantly greater loans.

Putting aside the argument whether this is prostitution or not, if students cannot find legitimate ways to pay off their heavy debts, some will turn to the black market, including prostitution and drug dealing.  The consequences of defaulting on student loans are devastating: default ruins the borrower's credit, which many employers now check, bars the her from federal employment and enrollment programs, and stays with her even if she files for bankruptcy.  And the federal government will garnish her wages to pay itself if she is lucky enough to find a job.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, it's reasonable for a student to choose the hard place, despite the liver spots.