Warren Unveils Audacious Student Debt Plan

Elizabeth Warren is out with what might be her most controversial policy proposal yet ahead of the 2020 election: She wants to wipe out a large chunk of the student debt now held by Americans, reports HuffPost. "The time for half-measures is over," Warren writes in a blog post detailing the plan she says would be "truly transformational." The specifics:

• Her plan would wipe out $50,000 in student debt for those with household incomes under $100,000; relief would be scaled based on income after that, and those who make more than $250,000 would get no relief.
• An economic analysis cited by HuffPost estimates that 76% of households with student debt would see "total loan forgiveness," while 95% would see at least partial loan forgiveness.
• She would eliminate tuition at public colleges, per the New York Times.
• The plan calls for an additional $100 billion for Pell Grants to defray non-tuition school expenses, reports CNBC.
• She would pay for all this with a 2% annual tax on households with more than $50 million, per Business Insider.
• "This touches people's lives," Warren tells the Times, making the case that student debt is hurting not just individuals but the broader American economy in terms of things such as homeownership. "This is a chance to talk about what's broken and how we fix it. This is the American dream."

(More Elizabeth Warren stories.)