ISSUES
Cancel Student Debt
The promise of higher pay if you earn a college degree is now a falsehood. Today in our country, 45 million people hold some $1.6 trillion in student debt. Meanwhile, median hourly wages for college graduates have risen by less than $1 since 2001.
Key Points
- Cancel all student loan debt for the 45 million Americans who owe about $1.6 trillion and place a cap on student loan interest rates going forward at 1.88 percent.
- End equity gaps in higher education attainment by expanding Pell grants to cover non-tuition and fee costs, tripling funding for the Work-Study Program, and more.
Details
The promise of higher pay if you earn a college degree is now a falsehood. Today in our country, 45 million people hold some $1.6 trillion in student debt. The average college student in the U.S. graduates with close to $30,000 in student loans and one in six college students will be stuck with over $50,000 in student loan debt after graduation. The reality we face is that more than half of students who enroll in college don’t complete a degree. Millions are leaving school with no degree and thousands of dollars in debt, Meanwhile, median hourly wages for college graduates have risen by less than $1 since 2001.
