[lzhou]

Aside from the total debt vs median wage issue - the chart also doesn't mention that THE recession that happened. What happens in a recession? 1) parental wages and/or job security are lower [ie, more debt needs to be taken on] 2)median wages coming out are lower. That may be partly the cause of the relationship.

Median wages dropped (starting in 2007) because of a recession, and we are still in the adjustment process of that (ex. on the wage side). We notice that post popping of the 2001-2002 bubble, the median wages actually increased into 2007.

I don't have all the facts, but the chart is misleading.