By Philip Klein (@philipaklein) • 7/19/16 1:24 AM •Updated: 07/19/16 1:56 AM

Where there might be a problem, the report concludes, is with students who don't finish, and also with people who went to for-profit schools or low-quality schools that didn't give them a good chance to finish or to get a good job afterward. In the most recent data, loan balances of less than $10,000 accounted for more than two-thirds of defaults, meaning that the problem is not with people who take on significant debt to finish, but with those who take out a few loans and then don't finish.

And the White House economists downplay the idea that massive student loan debt is dampening economic growth by preventing young people from making large-scale purchases, noting that by age 26, families with student debt are more likely to buy houses than those who didn't go to college.

Student loans have been a hot topic this election season. This month, Hillary Clinton proposed eliminating tuition at public schools for moderate-income families, a stance backed by her left-wing primary rival Bernie Sanders. Democrats have also appealed to young voters with promises to lower interest payments on student loans.