With the 2020 presidential race seemingly fully underway, the Democrat party has plenty of candidate is looking to become the nominee who face off against Pres. Trump. One of the biggest issues in this race is become student loan debt. It’s a problem that faces close to 45 million people, most of whom are desperately struggling to pay off their debt.
In a bid no doubt designed to win votes, nearly every Democrat running has some plan for canceling student loan debt and/or making college for everyone. Studies are being conducted that show that many young people are suffering and the burden of student loan debt. It’s forcing them to put off making major life decisions, like buying a home or getting married.
These decisions impact the economy more and more. It’s almost as if the student loan debt problem is a growing bubble. Considering this problem impacts more than just the person who took out the loan, but also their family and friends who are rallying to help the individual to get on their feet. Let’s take a look at several of the presidential candidates have to say about this problem.
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Sen. Warren wants to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt for people who have a modest income. She doesn’t want to completely wipe away student loan debt, and she feels that Americans making over $100,000 could easily afford their monthly payments. Really it would be an income-based forgiveness that will determine how much you are able to get taken off what you owe.
She’s also looking to make tuition free public college more of a thing. “Once we’ve cleared out the debt that’s holding down an entire generation of Americans, we must ensure that we never have another student debt crisis again,” Warren wrote in her Medium post, announcing the plan.
Senator Bernie Sanders
Where Sen. Warren is more careful to only offer free college to public schools and wipe away the debt the poorest of Americans, Sen. Sanders has the most comprehensive and complete wiping away of all student loan debt. His goal, through the College for All Act, would make going to college completely debt and tuition free for all Americans.
He also wants to continue giving Pell Grants to low income individuals so when they go to school, it will cover the non-tuition aspects of college, like room and board. He hopes to raise taxes on stock transitions to raise the nearly $2 trillion it will cost to both wipe out debt and provide free education for all.
Senator Kamala Harris
Sen. Harris’s plans aren’t as grand as the previous two, but if you are a Pell grant recipient, indicating low income status, that she wants to cancel is much as $20,000 in student debt. He also wants to offer a better student loan forgiveness program to historically black colleges and invest more in them.
“Yesterday I announced that, as president, I’ll establish a student loan debt forgiveness program for Pell Grant recipients who start a business that operates for three years in disadvantaged communities. https://kamalaharris.org/opportunity-gap/ …” she tweeted.
Senator Amy Klobuchar
Sen. Klobuchar is one of the more moderates in this area running for president. She been more careful not to talk too much about full student loan forgiveness, but she has supported legislation that makes paying back loans easier and more affordable for students. He’s even gone as far as speaking out against total tuition free schools. Although she does want to expand the Pell grant program which helps lower income individuals afford college.
Representative Tulsi Gabbard
Rep. Gabbard is on the same side as Sen. Bernie Sanders in supporting his College for All Act.
“This is the rate of student loan debt over the last 10+ years. Trump admin has made it worse by rolling back regulations and oversight on the way loans are administered. We need to re-invest in our students and make college attainable for everyone. #CollegeForAll” she tweeted.
Former Vice President Joe Biden
Out of all the candidates running for president, former VP Joe Biden is the one who hasn’t said very much at all about student debt during his campaigning. He is perhaps the most moderate of all the candidates while wiping out student debt and offering free tuition is more of a socialist credo. While he hasn’t stated anything recently, back in 2015 he did say he would support any measure that makes 4-year colleges tuition-free.
