Senator Elizabeth Warren, in the race for the next presidential election, has proposed a plan for alleviating student debt for the majority of those who have students loans and also for making public college free. Warren plans to put $1.25 trillion towards these issues and she claims that she will get this money through taxing the ultra-wealthy. Her proposal aims to cancel the debt of the 72% of the people who have taken out loans and to lower costs for at least 42 million others. It would clear up to $50,000 of debt for those whose income is below $100,000, while those who have an annual income more than $250,000 would receive no help.
Warren's plan is meant to primarily benefit black students, and her campaign officials said that this was done on purpose. Black students often have fewer resources to draw upon and therefore may need more assistance. Some argue that $50,000 in debt relief is too high and that canceling student debt is not addressing the root issues of student debt. Others have even expressed anger over the fact that Warren's plan would allow students to avoid debt while they had to save and pay back every cent of their loans.
It is difficult to imagine a world in which our crippling student debt would be magically taken away after so many years of being conditioned to prepare for it. However, if Warren's wealth tax plan is put into action, she claims that it would produce $2.75 trillion over the course of 10 years. Warren not only wants to tackle the growing issue of student debt but also promises that the money would go towards universal child healthcare, another pressing issue that has long been debated by the American government. Warren says, "In the wealthiest country on the planet, access to affordable and high-quality child care and early education should be a right, not a privilege reserved for the rich."
Student debt has accumulated to such staggeringly high rates that the benefits of even going to college seem to pale in comparison. Perhaps not everyone is rich enough to buy their children a place in elite universities, but the cost of college still makes attending a privilege that not everyone can afford. Although loans are offered, they are dangerous band-aids. Students may take out loans in order to pursue their dream job at their dream school, but attending college does not guarantee a future in which that same student will become wealthy enough to pay back their ever-accumulating debt.
While some are against taxing the wealthy or don't support giving current students an "easy" way out, I say that any plan that tries to tackle our uneven playing field is a good one. The extremely rich are already advantaged in almost every aspect of life, and it seems only fair that those on the bottom should be afforded the same opportunities. If Warren's plan works, not only will those with less money be helped, but people of color will be the focus of the plan's assistance, something that doesn't happen often. As a country, we need to stop worrying so much about ourselves, and a little more about those who our systems continuously disenfranchise.
