On the 2020 presidential campaign trail, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Monday announced a proposal to cancel most existing student loan debt and make tuition and fees at two- and four-year public colleges free.  To pay for the plan, estimated to cost $1.25 trillion over 10 years, Sen. Warren proposed a 2 percent annual tax on the 75,000 families in the U.S. who have at least $50 million in net worth.
 
The plan, discussed in a blog post on Medium.com, would: 

• Cancel debt for more than 95% of the nearly 45 million Americans with student loan debt;
• Wipe out student loan debt entirely for more than 75% of the Americans with that debt;
• Substantially increase wealth for Black and Latinx families and reduce both the Black-White and Latinx-White wealth gaps; and
• Provide an enormous middle-class stimulus that will boost economic growth, increase home purchases, and fuel a new wave of small business formation.

Specifically, Sen. Warren proposes to cancel $50,000 in student loan debt for every person with household income under $100,000 and provide substantial debt cancellation for every person with household income between $100,000 and $250,000. The plan offers no debt cancellation to people with household income above $250,000 (the top 5%).  Canceled debt will not be taxed as income.
 
NAICU President David L. Warren, Ph.D. released a statement regarding Sen. Warren’s plan:  “Of course I would have deep concerns for its effect on private colleges—but it could also hurt public colleges.  In New England, for example, those institutions rely on out of state students. These out of state students would instead be encouraged to stay in their home state and go for free. But I also worry for low-income families because this directs enormous federal resources that could be put into need-based student aid into a specific set of colleges potentially limiting a low-income student’s choice of college. I think we should direct as much federal aid as possible to students who need it. Then those students could afford to go to the college where they decide they fit in best, whether that is a community college, a small private or a large public.”
 
Below is a sampling of the media coverage the announcement of the plan received nationally.
  
Sen. Warren Blog:  I’m Calling for Something Truly Transformational: Universal Free Public College and Cancellation of Student Loan Debt
Medium.com (April 22, 2019)
 
NAICU Statement on Sen. Elizabeth Warren Student Debt and Free Public College Plan
Naicu.edu (April 22, 2019)
 
Warren Shakes Up Student Loan Debate
Inside Higher Ed (April 23, 2019)
 
Warren’s Free-College Plan Would Cancel Student Debt for Millions
The Chronicle of Higher Education (April 23, 2019)

Elizabeth Warren’s Higher Education Plan: Cancel Student Debt and Eliminate Tuition
The New York Times (April 23, 2019)
 
Sen. Elizabeth Warren Proposes Student-Debt Cancellation
Wall Street Journal (April 23, 2019)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Introduces $1.2 Trillion Plan to Tackle Student Debt
The Washington Post (April 23, 2019)

Elizabeth Warren: Cancel College Debt, Make Public Colleges Free
USA Today (April 23, 2019)

Elizabeth Warren's Student Loan Forgiveness Plan: Could It Super-Charge The Economy?
CBS News (April 23, 2019)

Elizabeth Warren Wants College to Be Free
The Atlantic (April 23, 2019)
 
Elizabeth Warren's Student Debt Cancellation Plan: How It Could Work
NASDAQ.com (April 23, 2019)

Is Elizabeth Warren's Plan for Free College Feasible? Economists Doubt Wealth Tax Will Raise Enough Funds
Newsweek (April 23, 2019)

Elizabeth Warren Is Coming for Your Student Loan Debt
The New Yorker (April 23, 2019)

The Things Elizabeth Warren Gets Wrong In Her College Plan - Opinion
Forbes (April 23, 2019)

There's No Point Forgiving Student Loans If You Don't Punish Their Schools' Greed - Editorial
The Washington Examiner (April 23, 2019)
 
Thoughts on Warren’s Proposed Jubilee – Opinion
Inside Higher Ed (April 23, 2019)