Free College

On Monday, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) released a plan to forgive student loan debt and make public colleges free, paid for by a wealth tax. (Medium)

The left generally believes this is a strong start to trying to address the student loan debt problem, while some are critical of the plan's scale.

“Americans have long agreed that 12 years of education is a public good. But that number — 12 — is clearly outdated. For people to compete in today’s economy, they’ll need more schooling. We can and should argue about whether the right number is 14 or 16. But it’s not 12… The Warren plan expends resources on student debtors from upper-income families, but it is still broadly progressive… Among low and moderate-income families — those in the bottom 40 percent of the income distribution — close to 90 percent of borrowing households would have their student debt wiped out compared to just under 30 percent of those in the top 10 percent.”
(Jared Bernstein, Washington Post)

The right is critical of the plan, arguing that it would be unfair to those who chose not to attend college, and further exacerbate tuition inflation.

“It is extraordinarily unjust to the working class. Many blue collar people are living on lower wages because they couldn't afford to go to college. They chose the responsible route, stayed within their means, avoided buying something they couldn't pay for, and accepted a humbler lifestyle as a result. Warren and her Democratic cohorts plan to make fools of these people. It turns out they could have just gone to college, taken out the loan, and never paid it back…

“Whatever possible argument could be made for loan forgiveness would clearly apply just as much to any other form of debt -- mortgage, car, credit card, etc. If you're struggling with student debt and you're handed a get-out-of-jail-free card, and I didn’t go to college but I’m struggling to pay my mortgage, should I not be offered the same deal? If your debt is a public emergency, why isn't my debt also an emergency?” (Matt Walsh, The Daily Wire)