Can we make college free again? Up until the 1970s, tuition at many of America’s public colleges was free. But since then, right-wingers have been waging war on public universities. They pressured states to slash funding for higher education, pushing public-college tuition through the roof, and helping banks rake in hundreds of billions off college loans. No wonder student debt just hit $1.5 trillion.
It gets worse: Women hold two-thirds of that debt, and black college grads are five times more likely to default than white grads.
This is not an accident: The free-marketeers who made us a nation of debtors had a plan. But now, so do we.
The College for All Act would cover tuition at public community colleges for all Americans, and tuition at public four-year universities for families making less than $125,000.
We could pay for it right now with a small “Robin Hood” tax on Wall Street speculation, or by repealing Trump’s corporate tax cuts.
Isn’t it time we stop student debt in its tracks?
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