I think some of what Graham points out regarding personal spending is inevitable in the way most are taught to approach money. Think about the casual attitude towards debt. A teenager who is not allowed to make decisions about alcohol purchases is allowed to borrow a six-figure sum for college tuition.
When I was seventeen, I rarely knew what I was doing next Tuesday. Did it make any sense to expect me to understand the burden of repaying a six-figure loan amount? Probably not. And I'm unaware of any reason why this should be different for a seventeen year-old today.
It seems normal only because of its prevalence. What the majority does becomes what everyone does and what everyone does defines normal.
Maybe arguments for and against loan forgiveness should start with a basic question: was the borrower a minor? If the question is good enough for murder trials, it should be good enough for a bank.
