Student Loan Debt and the 2020 Presidential Election

shmedia

6 years ago

Student loans are a hot topic amongst the democratic party’s frontrunners. When a candidate raises concern for the 44.7 million Americans who have student loan debt of $35,359.00 each, the voters start to perk their ears that a candidate actually cares about them. Or, is the candidate just buying a vote by claiming they can make thousands of dollars disappear?

The following is each leading candidate’s stance on student loan debt:

	Warren	Sanders	Biden	Buttigieg	Trump
The Promises	Cancels student loan debt for 95% of Americans. Create a tuition-free 2 or 4-year college system.	Cancels all student loan debt. “College for All Act” – Tuition-free college, trade schools, and apprenticeship programs.	Income-based repayment plan. Up to two years of free community college.	Income-based repayment plan. American Opportunity Agenda: two and four-year free public college.	One income-driven repayment plan that caps at 12.5% of discretionary income.
The Plan	Cancels UP TO $50,000 in debt for each household with income <100K Discharge steps down with increased income. Debt that is canceled will not be taxed as income.	Everyone’s student loan debt is canceled. Create a tuition-free education for everyone.	Income = <25K per year: no repayment and no interest. >25K per year: pay 5 % of your discretionary income over that $25,000 threshold toward your federal student loan payments. Remaining balances after 20 years = discharged	For families earning < $100K = free public college. $100-$150K = reduced tuition. Invest in the Pell Grant program to increase grant sizes.	Encourage responsible borrowing and create debt ceilings for federal loans. Accelerate program completion to reduce the cost of education Encouragement of shorter-term programs such as trade schools, certificate programs etc.
Who pays for it?	“Ultra-Millionaire Tax – 2% annual tax on individuals worth at least $50mil.	Wall Street Tax – 0.5% tax on stock trades, 0.1% fee on bond trades, 0.005 fees on derivative trades.	Limiting itemized tax deductions for the wealthiest Americans at 28%.	Taxing the top 1%	The student

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