One-Fourth Of America's Unemployed Are Now College Grads— Chamath Palihapitiya Warns Student Loans Are Fueling The Crisis - Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (NASDAQ:QQQ), SPDR S&P 500 (ARCA:SPY)

Core Insights - The American labor market is experiencing a "white-collar slowdown," leading to a record high of unemployed college graduates, prompting calls for a significant reform in federal student lending [1][4]. Group 1: Unemployment Trends - College graduates now represent 25.3% of total unemployment, a figure that has doubled since the 2008 Financial Crisis, with over 1.9 million workers aged 25 and older currently unemployed [2]. - The unemployment rate for young Americans aged 20 to 24 has increased to 9.2%, a rise of 2.2 percentage points year-over-year, indicating volatility typically associated with recessions [3]. Group 2: Critique of Higher Education Financing - Chamath Palihapitiya argues that the U.S. Federal Government should cease underwriting college loans, claiming the current system traps students in unmanageable debt for degrees that are losing value [4]. - The rising unemployment among degree-holders challenges the assumption that higher education protects against joblessness, leading to increased scrutiny of federal subsidies [5]. Group 3: Economic Context - Despite a September jobs report showing the U.S. economy added 119,000 positions, top economists warn that rising unemployment suggests a need to reassess economic policies, with concerns about a "serious affordability crisis" driven by fiscal policies [5].