Hillary Clinton's Plan to Make College More Affordable

    A plan to make public college educations more affordable for Americans is becoming the centerpiece of Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Announced on Monday, called The New College Compact. It would allow students to attend public universities without taking out loans for tuition. Loans would be available to cover the cost of living but students can perform public service acts to cover those costs. Clinton wants to allow graduates to refinance their loans at a lower interest rate and cap monthly payments at 10% of a person's income and if it isnt paid back by 20 years, the loan is forgiven.

    The plan also makes two years of community college free, a proposal that President Obama introduced earlier this year. It would benefit historically black colleges and universities by the billions! The Compact would offer financial stability and support for students and their families.

Students will still have to pay tuition but the amount the student has to pay will be capped at whatever a financial analyst assumes they can pay without loans. However, Students will need to work for 10 hours a week to qualify.

How?

The federal government will dump money into the states so they can use it for college tuition.

This is expensive, and over the course of 10 years, the prospective price tag is $350 billion according to the New York Times.  

How can we afford this?

Clinton would pay for it by limiting tax reductions for the rich.

Why now?

More than 40 million Americans owe student loan debt. It is competing with mortgages for the largest household debt.

Any legitimacy?

The steps are numerous. First, Clinton would have to get elected, and assuming the Republicans maintain control of Congress is 2016, she would need law-makers approval. It is already receiving criticism by Republican candidates like Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Scott Walker, Along with Democrat Bernie Sanders. It will be a long discussion, but it is being reviewed as we speak.

Staff Reporter- Izzy Prodan