Ally Kaiser, Senior
Free college has been a popular political topic since Bernie Sanders introduced it to the 2016 presidential election. The current group of presidential candidates are largely agreed that some of the cost of college should be paid for by the government, but the amount covered differs.
Julian Castro and Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, among others, believe that all public colleges and universities should be free. While Sanders and Warren have released plans to make this happen, other candidates have yet to come out with proposals.
Similarly, former Vice President Biden and Senator Amy Klobuchar support ensuring community colleges and technical schools are free. Additionally, Biden wishes to erase student loan debt for people making less than $30,000 a year. Similarly, Klobuchar would establish student loan forgiveness for people who pursue in-demand jobs.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris believe that students should not have to take on debt in order to go to college. They plan to achieve this by increasing aid so loans are not needed.
Andrew Yang is the only Democratic candidate to hold a position entirely against free college. However, he does have plans to reduce the cost by limiting tuition increases and possibly taxing schools that insist on raising their prices. Other Democratic candidates have yet to announce their position on free college.
President Trump, the likely Republican nominee, proposed capping federal student loans and cutting repayment options. The results of these proposals are unclear, but overall they are expected to help students.
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