In every Democratic debate so far, the candidates have talked at length about how to grapple with the cost of higher education.
In the October Democratic debate, Hillary Clinton said, “All the 40 million Americans who currently have student debt will be able to refinance their debt to a low interest rate.”
In November, Martin O’Malley said, “We were the only state to go four years in a row without a penny’s increase to college tuition.”
And in December, Bernie Sanders said, “Put a speculation tax on wall street, raise very substantial sums of money, not only make public colleges and universities tuition-free, but also substantially lower interest rates on student debt.”
There are big differences. Hillary Clinton wants free public education for some students. Bernie Sanders wants it for everyone, and Martin O’Malley thinks both private and public higher-ed should be debt free. But, they all think college affordability is a big issue. The Republicans? Not so much.
Ben Carson had this to say, “So, when someone comes along and says, free college, free phones, free this and that, and the other, they say, ‘wow, that’s nice.’”
Marco Rubio is less dismissive, frequently citing his own struggles with student debt. But his preferred solution seems to be convincing more kids not to go to college at all.
“We need more welders and less philosophy majors.”
It sounds like Chris Christie disagrees, though he hasn’t mentioned the topic much.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has vowed to revamp the student loan system, though the details are...murky.
“Right now it’s not fair. It’s one of the only places, frankly, where our country makes money. And they make a lot of money. And that should not take place,” said Trump.
So far, at least, the Republican who’s been the most vocal about reining in college costs is John Kasich.
“In Ohio we’re changing the whole system. Universities will not get paid one dime unless the student graduates. And, of course, we need to take advantage of on-line education to reduce these costs,” said Kasich.
But that could change tonight, because Jeb Bush recently unveiled a new college plan of his own. The big idea: give every high school grad a $50,000 line of credit, and link repayment to income. As you size up all these proposals, remember: at many schools, the college price tag now runs to quarter of a million bucks.
