New Reality Show Tackles Student Debt
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How does the episode introduce the student debt problem and new reality show?
Here's your Money Briefing. I'm J.R. Whalen at The Wall Street Journal in New York. You've heard a lot about the $1.5 trillion student debt crisis. Well, now actor Ashton Kutcher is behind a new reality TV show with a unique take on helping students pay down their balances. We'll take a listen in a moment. First, some money and market news you should know. There was bad news and good news in the September retail sales report. American shoppers pulled back on spending in September, with purchases at stores and restaurants as well as online falling for the first time since February. That's the bad. The good news is part of that drop was because gas prices were down, which impacted sales at gas stations.
Americans also spent about 1% less on vehicles in September, a turnaround from a 2% gain in August. A separate measure of U.S. consumer spending suggests uncertainties around trade are weighing on other parts of the global economy. Personal consumption expenditures slowed more than expected in August. Manufacturing and service sector activity in the U.S. and the Eurozone has also slowed. A report from LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company indicates more women are being hired for director-level jobs and higher, and women in senior-level roles are being promoted at higher rates than their male counterparts. But while representation of women in the so-called C-suite grew 22% by 2018, it fell 1% in 2019. The report also found women are still significantly underrepresented at all levels of management, accounting for just one in five executives.
But women are leaving jobs at a slower pace than men, and they're on par with men when it comes to asking for promotions and raises.
What retail and economic headlines set the context for household finances?
A new TV show debuts this week that tackles a financial problem impacting millions of students and families around the country, the $1.5 trillion student debt crisis. Have a listen.
When the world is pushing down on you, it's very hard. I'm broke, and I work all of the time. It doesn't feel like I'm paying it off. I currently live in my car.
We are in a severe amount of debt. Our biggest fear is that we're going to lose our family. Actor Ashton Kutcher is executive producer behind the show called Going From Broke. And Wall Street Journal reporter Julia Carpenter is here to discuss. So, Julia, this isn't the first TV show to focus on young people mired in debt, but it approaches it from a different angle.
We've seen other shows that take it from kind of this either game show perspective, like paid off or CNBC shows that showcase many icons like. And it's not as if somebody just swoops in and pays down a student's debt.
Right. Many of the young people spotlighted on the show, they faced some very tough lifestyle decisions.
Totally, totally. Every episode begins with the two hosts sitting down with the person who's at the center of the episode. And they go over their budget and they estimate how much they spend versus how much they earn. And they kind of crunch that for them and then make suggestions.
One person makes a particularly interesting point in one of the promos for the show. I was able to take out $80,000 in loans. No 18 year old should be able to do that.
How is Ashton Kutcher’s new show framed as tackling the $1.5 trillion student-debt crisis?
You know, Julia, that's a lot of money for an 18 year old to take out. I don't know that an 18 year old would be able to take that much money out for a house.
It's interesting because listening to the amounts of money that people were grappling with on the show, it's interesting. It's something that's really emotionally afflicting as well as changing their lifestyle. So the show's kind of dealing with both of those pieces of it. One of the women we heard in the promo, she was wrestling with student loan debt and ultimately decides kind of with the help of the host that she's going to sign up for income-based repayment. And they talk over the course of the episode about the benefits of refinancing your student loans, restructuring these payments in different ways. But they're also talking a lot with her about that emotional toll. I think she says at one point in the show, like, the world is pressing down on me.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
How does the episode introduce the student debt problem and new reality show?
0:05–1:50
2
What retail and economic headlines set the context for household finances?
1:50–3:20
3
How is Ashton Kutcher’s new show framed as tackling the $1.5 trillion student-debt crisis?
3:20–5:02
4
What personal stories and emotional impacts of student debt are highlighted on the show?
5:02–7:34
5
How do the hosts and experts walk through budgets and repayment strategies on-screen?
7:34–8:04
Speakers
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