As graduating seniors unravel their freshly-printed diplomas, it\u2019s hard for them to see anything but a bill.
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Today, U.S. college students are paying more in student loans than ever before. Seventy percent<\/a> of students take out student loans, and they accumulated an average debt of $37,172 per person. Overall, Americans owe more than $1.56 trillion in student loans, which is $521 billion more than the total credit card debt in the United States. It’s a vicious cycle. Increasingly, high tuition costs are forcing students and their parents to take out high-interest-rate loans that can take decades to pay off. But recent graduates\u2019 wallets aren\u2019t the only thing to be worried about. Student debt greatly impacts the economy. It hinders young people\u2019s ability to buy a home, start a business or be an active consumer. As we approach the 2020 primaries, some bold solutions to alleviate student debt have already been proposed by the 2020 candidates. Here is how the candidates plan to address student loan debt: <\/strong> Recently, Sen. Warren proposed a progressive plan<\/a> that would cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt for 42 million borrowers. It is estimated that the debt cancellation plan would create a \u201cone-time\u201d $640 billion cost to the government. But, to Warren, alleviating one generation\u2019s student loan debt isn\u2019t enough. She also wants to make all public colleges free through her Universal Free College Program, so America never has another student debt crisis. In total, Warren\u2019s Universal Free College Program and plan to eliminate student debt would cost an estimated $1.25 trillion over 10 years. To pay for it, Warren suggests implementing a 2-percent annual tax on the 75,000 richest families in the United States. Her campaign estimates the tax would bring in $2.75 trillion over 10 years. \u201cWe can address the student loan crisis and cancel debt for families that are struggling,\u201d Warren wrote in a post<\/a>. \u201cWe can provide truly universal free college. We can fix some of the structural problems that are preventing our higher education system from fairly serving lower-income students and students of color. We can make big structural change and create new opportunities for all Americans.\u201d To read Elizabeth Warren\u2019s positions on higher education and other key issues, click <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>. Sanders recently announced a new plan to cancel $1.6 trillion in student loan debt for more than 45 million borrowers. The plan would be funded by a Wall Street tax on stock transactions, bond trades, and derivatives transactions. He expects the tax could collect more than $2 trillion over the course of 10 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To read Bernie Sanders\u2019 positions on higher education and other key issues, click <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> Harris has supported<\/a> refinancing student loan debt and improving student loan forgiveness. Namely, she has advocated for allowing borrowers to discharge student loans when filing for bankruptcy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently, Harris also announced a plan<\/a> that would relieve some borrowers of up to $20,000 in student loan debt. To qualify, however, borrowers must be a Pell Grant recipient, start a business in a disadvantaged community, and run it for three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, she is a leading advocate against for-profit higher education programs, which account for 35 percent of student loan defaults despite accounting for only 10 percent of students. As attorney general, Harris filed a lawsuit<\/a> against Corinthian Colleges, a now-defunct for-profit higher education company that at its peak operated over 100 campuses across North America, alleging that it had followed predatory model and deceived students. In 2017, she worked with other Senate Democrats<\/a> to reintroduce the Students Before Profits Act<\/a>, which seeks to protect students against predatory practices from for-profit colleges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To read Kamala Harris\u2019 positions on higher education and other key issues, click <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> To alleviate the financial burden placed on current student loan borrowers, Sen. Booker has vocalized his dedication<\/a> to both protecting students from predatory loans and resolving the \u201cbacklog\u201d of student loan forgiveness requests. But he is more focused on making education affordable for those who have yet to go to college. Policy-wise, he helped push forward the Debt-Free College Act of 2018<\/a>, which would simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form and encourage states to invest more money into providing grants for students seeking higher education, particularly for low-income students and students of color. Ideally, the grants would cover the \u201cfull cost\u201d of a college education, which includes textbooks, living costs and transportation. Under this plan, students would no longer accumulate debt. “We constantly tell young people that higher education is the key to success. Yet, our current system punishes them for seeking an education through predatory loans and saddling them with outrageous debt,” Booker said in a statement<\/a>. “For the millions of students across the country, we must do better … .\u201d To read Cory Booker\u2019s positions on higher education and other key issues, click <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> Eliminating student debt is one of Sen. Gillibrand\u2019s top priorities. She introduced the Federal Student Loan Refinancing Act<\/a>, which would allow students to refinance their loans from 6.8 percent \u2014 what they are paying now \u2014 to 4 percent. \u201cStudent debt is at a crisis level in this country, and it holds our whole economy down,\u201d she tweeted<\/a>. \u201cOne of the first things I\u2019d do as president is [to] allow all students to refinance their loans at 4%. The federal government shouldn\u2019t be making money off the backs of our students, period.\u201d To read Kirsten Giilibrand\u2019s positions on higher education and other key issues, click <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> As a borrower, himself, Yang understands how student loans can hamper a young person\u2019s ability to finance their adult life. He is in support<\/a> of increasing student loan forgiveness efforts to help those who have already graduated from college. He also wants colleges to be more transparent about their students\u2019 post-graduation debt and salary figures. Specifically, if elected president, he has vowed to propose<\/a> a \u201cStudent Loan Emancipation Act,\u201d in which the federal government would buy all student loan debt, and borrowers would then pay the federal government 10 percent of their annual salary until they have paid off their loans. If they still owe money after 10 years, their loans will be forgiven. Additionally, as part of his long list<\/a> of suggestions, Yang has committed to ask colleges and universities to forgive some, or all, of the loans taken out by students who failed to graduate. He also has proposed allowing students to discharge their student loan debt through bankruptcy, which he believes will force lenders to work with students \u201cin good faith.\u201d To read Andrew Yang\u2019s positions on higher education and other key issues, click <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> Buttigieg, as a millennial who has had to pay off his own student loans, understands the need to lower student debt. He recently told Claremont Colleges\u2019 student newspaper<\/a> that he would approve of legislature that would allow students to refinance their loans at lower interest rates, and he supports improving accessibility to the Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Program. Specifically, he wants it to be easier for teachers and public servants<\/a> to have their student loans forgiven. To read Pete Buttigieg\u2019s positions on higher education and other key issues, click <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> In addition to making tuition free at all public colleges, universities, community colleges and technical and vocational schools, Castro\u2019s \u201cPeople First Education Plan<\/a>\u201d seeks to alleviate the burden of student loan debt by making sure no borrower pays \u201cmore than their income allows.\u201d Specifically, under his plan, borrowers wouldn\u2019t have to pay until they are earning at least 250 percent of the poverty level. Until that point, monthly loan payments of those borrowers would be $0, and half of their unpaid interest would be exempted after three years. And even when borrowers are earning enough to start paying back their loans, their monthly payments wouldn’t exceed 10 percent of their monthly income. After 240 monthly payments, including months when the repayment amount was capped at $0, if any, the remaining amount would be forgiven. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Messam presents a \u201cstraightforward\u201d solution to the student debt crisis: cancel all debt. According to Messam<\/a>, alleviating all student debt would provide \u201cimmediate financial relief\u201d for all borrowers, and allow them to save or invest their money. \u201cThe economic benefits would be felt nationwide,\u201d he states on his website<\/a>. He cites research<\/a> conducted by economists at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College that claim eliminating all student debt would reduce unemployment, create jobs and raise the number of degrees achieved, among other things. Recently, Sen. Klobuchar asked the U.S. Department of Education to address the mounting student loan forgiveness requests from borrowers who have been \u201ccheated or defrauded.\u201d \u201cStudents should never have to worry about these scams as they look to improve their lives & careers,\u201d she tweeted<\/a>. Specifically, she has co-sponsored the Keep Student Loans Affordable Act<\/a> and the Student Loan Affordability Act<\/a>, both of which would keep student loan interest rates from rising. She has also co-sponsored the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act<\/a> and the RED (Reducing Educational Debt) Act<\/a> — both acts would allow borrowers to refinance their loans at lower interest rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To read Amy Klobuchar\u2019s positions on higher education and other key issues, click <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> O’Rourke wants to cancel all student loan debt<\/a> for public school teachers. Under his plan, all public school teachers who have worked for at least five years would have their debt relieved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the past, he expressed a few more ideas during a Q&A<\/a> with The Cougar \u2014 the University of Houston\u2019s student-run news organization. \u201cOne is if you agree to come back and serve your community in an in-demand, under-served area, we should wipe your debt clean or not allow you to accrue it to begin with,\u201d he said. \u201cSecond, if we\u2019re going to subsidize federal student loans and federal grants, then when (sic) should have a commitment from institutions of higher learning that they\u2019re going to curb the inflation for tuition, room and board.\u201d To read Beto O\u2019Rourke\u2019s positions on higher education and other key issues, click <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> Gabbard has voiced her support of Sen. Sanders<\/a>\u2019 College For All Act<\/a>, which primarily aims to eliminate tuition and fees for families making under $125,000 per year. But the Act also suggests some measures to address the student loan crisis. Under the Act, undergraduate student loan interest rates would drop to 2.32 percent. It would also allow those who have already graduated from college to refinance their loans to match the rates that would be available to current students. Lastly, it would ensure that interest rates could never climb higher than 8.25 percent. To read Tulsi Gabbard\u2019s positions on higher education and other key issues, click <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Biden has been heavily criticized for a bill he helped push forward<\/a> while he was a senator in 2005, which made it impossible for student loan borrowers to discharge their loan debt in bankruptcy. However, in his recently published education plan<\/a>, he voiced the need to make sure teachers and other educators are able to pay off their student loans. Specifically, he vowed to \u201csee to it that the existing Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is fixed, simplified, and actually helps teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n To read Joe Biden\u2019s positions on higher education and other key issues, click here<\/a>.<\/em>
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nSen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)<\/strong>
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nSen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)<\/strong>
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\u201cDuring the financial crisis, Wall Street received the largest taxpayer bailout in American history, Sanders recently tweeted<\/a>. \u201cNow it is Wall Street\u2019s turn to help rebuild the disappearing middle class.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.)<\/strong>
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nSen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)<\/strong>
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nSen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)<\/strong>
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nAndrew Yang, N.Y. Entrepreneur<\/strong>
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nPete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, Indiana<\/strong>
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nJuli\u00e1n Castro, Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary<\/strong>
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nWayne Messam, Mayor of Miramar, Florida<\/strong>
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nSen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)<\/strong>
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nBeto O\u2019Rourke, Former Democratic Representative of Texas<\/strong>
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nRep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) <\/strong>
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nJoe Biden, Former U.S. Vice President<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nPresident Donald Trump<\/strong>
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