Elizabeth Warren Proposes New Higher Education Plan That Would Cancel College Debt And Make College Free

Sen. #ElizabethWarren wants to get rid of student loan debt and make college tuition-free through her Higher Education plan.

On Monday, Warren announced her ground-breaking higher education plan that would wipe out tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt, as well as make college tuition free at public colleges. Warren’s proposal would eliminate up to $50,000 in student loan debt for every indebted person with a household income of less than $100,000.

Borrowers who make between $100,000 and $250,000 would also be eligible for a smaller portion of the debt to be removed, USA Today reports. Americans making more than $250,000 would not be eligible for loan forgiveness under the plan.

According to Warren’s campaign, the plan would cost $1.25 trillion over the next decade. The entire cost would be covered by an “Ultra-Millionaire Tax,” a 2% annual levy that she wants to impose on 75,000 American families with $50 million or more in wealth, she said.

“For decades, we’ve allowed the wealthy to pay less while burying tens of millions of working Americans in education debt,” Warren wrote in a Medium post detailing her plan. “It’s time to make different choices.” If approved, the plane would relieve 76.2% of households with student debt, according to an analysis conducted for the campaign. In addition, the plan would greatly impact the American economy.

“The greater ability to save and build assets entailed by a lower debt load would generate additional wealth and would be significant in the lives of debtors,” Charron-Chénier and Shapiro wrote. “It would likely entail consumer-driven economic stimulus, improved credit scores, greater home-buying rates, and housing stability, higher college completion rates, and greater business formation.” Currently, there is $1.56 trillion worth of college student debt in America.