Boston’s WBUR reports:
Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is proposing the elimination of existing student loan debt. The Massachusetts senator says the proposal unveiled Monday would eliminate almost all student loan debt for 42 million Americans, canceling $50,000 in debt for each person with household income under $100,000.
Warren says the debt cancellation proposal would create a one-time cost to the federal government of $640 billion. Many in the sprawling Democratic field have proposed reforming the nation’s student loan programs, but Warren appears to be first to propose flat-out debt cancellation.
Reuters reports:
The Massachusetts Democrat’s proposal is the latest in a string of policy papers she has released over the past nine months, including multiple proposals since she announced her presidential bid on New Year’s Eve.
Since then, she’s proposed reforms to break up tech giants such as Facebook and Google; a universal pre-K program she says would also be paid for by the “ultra-millionaire tax”; and, most recently, a plan to protect public lands.
Yet her policy bonafides have not translated into a bump in the polls, where she struggles to keep pace with the party’s current ront-runners, including Sanders; South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and former Vice President Joe Biden, who has not yet officially announced his candidacy.
Student loan debt is crushing millions of families. That’s why I’m calling for something truly transformational: Universal free college and the cancellation of debt for more than 95% of Americans with student loan debt. Read all about it here: https://t.co/IG9J5CiNb7
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) April 22, 2019