This might not be the place for this question, so apologies in advance.
Do you think the rising debt students get themselves into is partially to blame for lower starting salaries?
Example: I'm a practice owner, 5 new graduate vets come to me and want a job. I know at least 4 of them have to be in debt, so I can set the offered salary a little lower, maybe take away some benefits, whatever to save myself money but that might make the job a little less attractive. I can do this because I know one of them will be desperate enough for a job that they'll take what I offer them. The no-debt graduate has a bit more freedom to be slightly more demanding in what she/he is looking for because loan payments aren't looming.
In the sense if you flood the market with desperate workers then its harder to earn a decent living for everyone. I'm not saying the shear numbers of graduating vets isn't contributing, but the looming debt seems to me it would play a large factor too. If everyone who graduated this year had no debt, would people be more picky about which jobs they took, forcing practices to offer better jobs?
Thanks for your thoughts.