Sen. Warren Pushes Student Loan Forgiveness Plan At NH Town Hall
MANCHESTER, NH (CBS) - Presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren laid out her college debt forgiveness plan during a town hall Monday night at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire.
"The position of the federal government has been 'good luck to you you're on your own,'" Sen. Warren said.
Warren wants to change that and wipe out existing loan debt up to $50,000 for households that make under $100,000.
"My proposal is to say this isn't right," Warren said. "What we have to do as a country is roll back that debt."
The second part of Warren's plan would make public universities free. The senator plans to pay for the proposal with an "ultra-millionaire tax," a two percent tax on anyone with more than $50 million.
"This is about opportunity for everyone," Warren said.
Reaction to Senator Warren's plan on campus is mixed.
"I don't think that it should be free," said St. Anselm student Julia Tahissell. "I think that people should work for what they get. Personally I've worked hard my whole life to get where I am academically and athletically."
"So if you start forgiving these loans then forgive my auto loan, or forgive my home loan," said Brendan Flaherty.
Those in favor say it's long overdue.
"I think that's a great program to try and fix the previous problem," said Graham Macklin. "I don't know that it's the best way to move forward, but I think it could be super helpful for kind of cleaning up the mess we already created."
"It's just a matter of trying to give everyone a fair chance to make it in the world," said David Stein.