{"id":32396,"date":"2019-04-15T11:08:31","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T15:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=32396"},"modified":"2022-03-16T09:02:48","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T13:02:48","slug":"pete-buttigieg-2020-on-higher-education-and-6-other-key-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/pete-buttigieg-2020-on-higher-education-and-6-other-key-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Pete Buttigieg 2020 \u2014 On Higher Education and 6 Other Key Issues"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Pete Buttigieg, commonly known as \u201cMayor Pete,\u201d is the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Despite his young age, Buttigieg has a <a href=\"https:\/\/southbendin.gov\/official\/mayor-pete-buttigieg\/\">decorated resume<\/a>. He is a Harvard University graduate, a Rhodes Scholar, a member of the Navy Reserves and an active musician. In 2014, two years after he started his first term as mayor, Buttigieg was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indystar.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2014\/02\/24\/south-bend-mayor-set-for-afghanistan-deployment\/5775249\/\">deployed<\/a> to serve in Afghanistan. But his seven-month deployment didn\u2019t hampor his mayoral success. As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indystar.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2019\/03\/21\/pete-buttigieg-democratic-presidential-hopeful-south-bend-indiana-turnaround-city\/3165477002\/\">mayor of South Bend<\/a>, he helped lower unemployment, revamp the previously \u201cdying\u201d downtown and turn around the city\u2019s population, which had been declining for some time. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now he is running for president. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin: 0 auto; width:80%\" ;=\"\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0PiVzyDqKQs\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"100%\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Here is what Pete Buttigieg stands for: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Copy-of-ELIZABETH-WARREN-2020-2-529x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33232\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. Pete Buttigieg on Higher Education<\/strong><br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Free College <\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Recently, Buttigieg <a href=\"https:\/\/peteforamerica.com\/issues\/#HigherEducation\">switched his opinion<\/a> on free college. Specifically, he now supports making public college \u201cdebt-free\u201d for low-income families and \u201ctuition-free\u201d for middle-income families. Largely, he plans to do this through a state-federal partnership and by increasing Pell Grants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Student Loans<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If elected, Buttigieg would become the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apnews.com\/10aeb7d1a88c4839b4c30075e4c0e0b3\">first U.S. president<\/a> to owe student loan debt. So, this issue is personal to him, he often explains.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, Buttigieg does not seem to believe there should be widespread student debt cancellation, largely due to the cost. He does have some ideas, though, to help out borrowers, including allowing students to refinance their loans, expanding public service loan forgiveness, pausing student loan repayments for some <a href=\"https:\/\/peteforamerica.com\/issues\/\">military spouses<\/a>, and making it easier for teachers and public servants to have their loans forgiven. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Pete Buttigieg on Social Justice <\/strong><br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Income Inequality <\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Compared to the majority of his competitors, Buttigieg hasn\u2019t had much of an opportunity to speak on a national level. However, in a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2019\/04\/12\/2020-candidate-pete-buttigieg-on-taxing-the-rich-future-of-us-capitalism.html\">interview with CNBC<\/a>, he explained that a higher marginal tax rate for top earners is something we should \u201cconsider.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMaybe it doesn\u2019t have to be as high as it was historically, but we should at least admit that when it was higher, the American economy was growing pretty well,\u201d Buttigieg said in the interview. \u201cWe should consider a wealth tax. I think it makes sense. I think one of the things that\u2019s appealing about it is it\u2019s not very distortionary compared to an income tax, and that\u2019s important.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, Buttigieg has voiced his interest in implementing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2019\/04\/12\/2020-candidate-pete-buttigieg-on-taxing-the-rich-future-of-us-capitalism.html\">tax on financial transactions<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2019\/04\/12\/2020-candidate-pete-buttigieg-on-taxing-the-rich-future-of-us-capitalism.html\">raising the minimum wage<\/a>, eliminating the <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/5562209\/equal-pay-day-2020-candidates\/\">gender wage gap<\/a>, and \u201cturning to a more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2019\/04\/12\/2020-candidate-pete-buttigieg-on-taxing-the-rich-future-of-us-capitalism.html\">equitable use<\/a> of the estate tax.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>LGBT Rights <\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If elected, Buttigieg would become the United States\u2019 first openly gay president. Policy-wise, he has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonblade.com\/2019\/02\/05\/pete-buttigieg-makes-pitch-to-lgbt-voters-in-bid-to-become-first-out-gay-president\/\">voiced his support<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/116th-congress\/house-bill\/5\/text\">Equality Act<\/a>, which would ban discrimination against LGBT people in education, employment, housing, credit, public accommodations, federally funded institutions, and federal jury service. He also has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc57.com\/news\/south-bend-mayor-pete-buttigieg-weighs-in-on-transgender-military-ban\">spoken out against<\/a> the Trump administration\u2019s transgender military ban. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Socially, Buttigieg could serve as a role model for many gay individulas with high political aspirations. He didn\u2019t come out as gay <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonblade.com\/2019\/04\/07\/buttigieg-engages-lgbt-crowd-by-sharing-personal-struggle-of-being-gay\/\">until 2015<\/a> &#8212; three years after he was elected mayor. As a senior in high school, Buttigieg knew he was gay, but he believed that if he was open about it, it could hamper his professional career. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBack then I would have believed that you could either be gay or you could be married. Not both,\u201d Buttigieg told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonblade.com\/2019\/04\/07\/buttigieg-engages-lgbt-crowd-by-sharing-personal-struggle-of-being-gay\/\">Washington Blade<\/a>. \u201cThat if you were gay, you could either be out, or you could run for office. Not both. That in our country you could live with a same-sex partner or you could serve in the military. Not both.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Criminal Justice <\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Buttigieg has faced recent <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/437403-buttigieg-says-hes-stopped-using-phrase-all-lives-matter\">scrutiny<\/a> for using the phrase \u201call lives matter\u201d during a 2015 State of the City Speech. However, he has since addressed the controversy by saying he regrets using the phrase and didn\u2019t fully understand its meaning at the time. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While he hasn\u2019t had the chance to introduce or back legislation at the national level, Buttigieg has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/politics\/pete-buttigieg-talks-criminal-justice-reform-at-national-action-network-convention\/vi-BBVCY0u\">alluded<\/a> that he felt comfortable asking the Obama-era Department of Justice for guidance on body cameras, civil-rights training and implicit bias, and recruiting a more diverse police force. Since Trump has taken office, however, he hasn\u2019t felt as comfortable taking advice. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe next president needs to set up a Department of Justice that will be an ally to help any mayor and police department trying to do the right thing,&#8221; Buttigieg <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/politics\/pete-buttigieg-talks-criminal-justice-reform-at-national-action-network-convention\/vi-BBVCY0u\">said<\/a> in an interview with the National Action Network. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Pete Buttigieg on the Environment<\/strong><br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Climate Change <\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Buttigieg is a staunch supporter of the fight against climate change. As a millennial, he mimics many young people\u2019s concerns regarding the fate of the environment. \u201cIf you\u2019re my age or younger . . . you\u2019re going to be dealing with climate change for most of your adult life in specific, noticeable ways,\u201d he told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2019\/01\/buttigieg-announces-his-run-presidency\/580984\/\">Atlantic<\/a>. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He <a href=\"https:\/\/grist.org\/article\/mayor-pete-2020s-stealth-climate-candidate\/\">stresses the idea<\/a> of thinking long-term, and he worries that current politicians are thinking too much about the immediate future &#8212; partially because of their age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Sustainability and Clean Energy <\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Buttigieg believes in the need to transition away from fossil fuels towards clean, renewable &nbsp;energy. Policy-wise, Buttigieg backs <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@ClimateMayors\/climate-mayors-commit-to-adopt-honor-and-uphold-paris-climate-agreement-goals-ba566e260097\">rejoining<\/a> the Paris Agreement. He also has voiced his support of Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/why-millenials-listen-when-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-speaks\/\">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a>\u2019s (D-N.Y.) Green New Deal. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think we need to be honest that the Green New Deal framework right now represents a set of goals more so than it does a fully designed plan,\u201d Buttigieg told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonherald.com\/2019\/04\/06\/pete-buttigieg-likes-green-new-deal-and-nuclear\/\">Boston Herald<\/a>. \u201cI actually think that\u2019s OK. One characteristic of our country is that we embrace very aggressive goals when it\u2019s the right thing to do for our country, as we did on everything from conquering the Great Depression to winning the World Wars to putting somebody on the moon.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>4. Pete Buttigieg on Immigration<\/strong><br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Buttigieg, like many of his Democtratic competitors, disagrees with Trump\u2019s tightening of the U.S. borders. He <a href=\"https:\/\/wsbt.com\/news\/local\/south-bend-mayor-talks-daca\">supports<\/a> the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and he approves of legislature that would enable young undocumented immigrants to become citizens. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recently, Buttigieg weighed in on the debate over defunding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs long as you have an agency, even if you get rid of ICE and call it something else, being ordered to tear families apart from one another, or being ordered to make it harder to get onto a path to citizenship, you are going to continue to have heartbreaking stories that are not helping anybody,\u201d he told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/meet-the-press\/buttigieg-i-would-stack-my-experience-against-anybody-n991781\">NBC<\/a>. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>5. Pete Buttigieg on Marijuana <\/strong><br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While Buttigieg hasn\u2019t put marijuana at the forefront of his campaign, he does believe in the federal legalization of the drug. Primarily, because he recognizes that existing marijuana laws have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marijuanamoment.net\/where-presidential-candidate-pete-buttigieg-stands-on-marijuana\/\">unequally used<\/a> to target and incarcerate African Americans.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe safe, regulated, and legal sale of marijuana is an idea whose time has come for the United States, as evidenced by voters demanding legalization in states across the country,\u201d he told <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.bostonglobe.com\/news\/politics\/graphics\/2019\/02\/president-2020-candidates\/issues-marijuana\/#Buttigieg\">The Boston Globe<\/a>. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>6. Pete Buttigieg on Gun Control <\/strong><br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Buttigieg has expressed <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@teampete\/an-action-plan-to-combat-the-national-threat-posed-by-hate-and-the-gun-lobby-5752a68c954e\">support<\/a> for universal background checks, an assault weapons ban, establishing a nationwide gun licensing program, closing the \u201cboyfriend loophole,\u201d and closing the \u201cCharleston loophole,\u201d which allows people to purchase a gun, regardless of their history, if a background check takes more than three business days. He also supports the Disarm Hate Act, which would prevent people who have been convicted of hate crimes from buying a firearm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI did not carry an assault weapon around a foreign country so I could come home and see them used to massacre my countrymen,\u201d Buttigieg <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PeteButtigieg\/status\/914863875979345922\">tweeted<\/a> in 2017. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>7. Pete Buttigieg on Net Neutrality <\/strong><br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Like many of his Democratic competitors, Buttigieg is a supporter of net neutrality. He believes everyone should have access to a free and open internet where they can express their ideas, opinions and creations. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2017, after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to repeal Obama-era net neutrality laws, Buttigieg sarcastically <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/petebuttigieg\/status\/941381105579646977\">tweeted<\/a>: \u201cThe truth is this #NetNeutrality decision probably won&#8217;t affect your daily life. Unless you use the Internet.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And in 2018, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wndu.com\/content\/news\/Buttigieg-signs-Cities-Open-Internet-Pledge-after-net-neutrality-repeal-478768313.html\">Buttigieg signed<\/a> the Cities Open Internet Pledge, which aims to make all internet providers working within participating cities follow net neutrality principles. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pete Buttigieg, commonly known as \u201cMayor Pete,\u201d is the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Despite his young age, Buttigieg has a decorated resume. He is a Harvard University graduate, a Rhodes Scholar, a member of the Navy Reserves and an active musician. In 2014, two years after he started his first term as mayor, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":32049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[650,230,229],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-650","category-news","category-lead-stories"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Pete-Buttigieg-2020.png",830,533,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Pete-Buttigieg-2020-150x150.png",144,144,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Pete-Buttigieg-2020-300x193.png",300,193,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Pete-Buttigieg-2020.png",830,533,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Pete-Buttigieg-2020.png",830,533,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Pete-Buttigieg-2020.png",830,533,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Pete-Buttigieg-2020.png",830,533,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Jackson Schroeder","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/author\/jackson-schroeder\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Pete Buttigieg, commonly known as \u201cMayor Pete,\u201d is the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Despite his young age, Buttigieg has a decorated resume. He is a Harvard University graduate, a Rhodes Scholar, a member of the Navy Reserves and an active musician. In 2014, two years after he started his first term as mayor,&hellip;","featured_media_src_url":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Pete-Buttigieg-2020.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}