As the much-buzzed-about New York presidential primary approaches, one issue on many New School students minds is the issue of crippling higher-education debt and high tuition costs.
The debate on lowering college tuition takes center stage as the race for the presidency continues. Both Democratic candidates, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton acknowledged from the beginning of the race that tuition in America is rising, and that too many college graduates are drowning in debt. Although both candidates believe something should be done, they both differ on how rising college tuition should be dealt with.
Bernie Sanders
Bernie has argued for free public college so that, “everyone, regardless of their income who has the ability and the desire can get a higher education.” Bernie also mentioned a program in which students would be able to refinance their loans, and where the federal government would stop profiteering from student loans. Bernie suggested raising taxes on Wall Street speculation to pay for his student debt plan. Bernie described it as Wall Street “returning the favor” for the big boost it received in 2008 from Taxpayers bailing out some of the largest financial institutions in the 2008 crash.
Hillary Clinton
Although Hillary Clinton agreed with refinancing loans, she took a different route in discussing affordable education and had stated that Bernie’s plan for free public college education “does not add up.” She moved away from Bernie’s argument of “free tuition” and instead approached her argument with “debt free tuition.”
Donald Trump
Donald Trump stated his disgust with the federal government for profiting on student loans. “That’s probably one of the only things the government shouldn’t make money off. I think it’s terrible that one of the only profit centers we have is student loans,” Trump stated. Trump did not say how he would fix the issue directly but did state that there needs to be more jobs for these students when they are out of college. “I don’t want to raise the minimum wage. I want to create jobs so people can get much more than that, so they can get five times what the minimum wage is.”
Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz has yet to speak out about student and debt and college tuition, and it is not addressed on his website. In 2013, he voted in favor of the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty act of 2013 which ensured that all federal loans would be fixed going forward, tying federal loan rates to financial markets and placing a cap on on rates. He also voted against Sen. Warren’s amendment to a Republican Budget Resolution in 2015 which would of allowed borrowers to refinance their loans.
John Kasich
John Kasich spoke out against college costs in the past like with his 2015 state budget which implemented a two-year tuition freeze for state colleges and universities and increased state funding for the institutions. He proposed offering high school students more opportunities to earn college credit with high school classes. He also mentioned Ohio’s plan to pay college and universities based on performance, measured by how many students graduate.
Read on below to see what the Democratic candidates are saying on this issue:
Ali McPherson is a native New Yorker, an inspiring writer and photographer. A die hard fan of NYLON magazine, Ali dreams of dipping into journalism and fashion.
