(This photo of Hillary Clinton is from cnn.com.)Hillary Clinton has announced a plan to help students afford to go to college. It's a good plan, and would definitely help. Here is how NBC News describes her plan:
By closing undisclosed tax loopholes on the wealthy, Clinton plans to raise $350 billion over 10 years to invest in higher education. Of that, more than half would be used for grants to states, public universities, and non-profit colleges that keep costs low for students and meet several other requirements. Another third of the money would go towards debt relief for students. Clinton’s plan would allow every American who owes money to the government to refinance their loans at today’s historically low interest rate. And she’d cut future borrowing costs by preventing the government from making a profit on loans to students. The remainder of the money would fund innovative education models. Clinton would also expand and streamline income-based repayment options, so borrowers would never have to pay more than 10% of their income. After 20 years, their remaining debt would be automatically forgiven if they kept up with payments. Pell Grants would help pay for living expenses beyond tuition. Student borrowers would be expected to work at least 10 hours a week to contribute, while their families would continue contributing under the current income-based model. Clinton’s plan would also expand a tax credit from $1,000 to $2,500 for families paying for college. And to protect borrowers, her campaign says she would create a Borrower Bill of Rights and task the Elizabeth Warren-created Consumer Finance Protection Bureau with monitoring loans. Clinton’s plan also cracks down on for-profit colleges in a number of ways, including by eliminating the so-called 90-10 loophole, which leads many for-profit college to prey on veterans. . . Her campaign says she will create a dedicated fund for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and will expand AmeriCorps from 75,000 to 250,000 members.
