For almost a decade the issue of student debt was marginalized, even made invisible, by our media and perhaps by ourselves, replaced instead by a myriad of funny stories of a generation that was returning to live with their parents. The emphasis was on the indolence, laziness of a generation, with much sympathy for their overburdened parents, while, in fact, what we should have been focused on was the financial crisis being faced by a generation, overwhelmed by a burden of debt for education...sometimes for college, sometimes for still higher training...law school, graduate school, medical school, dental school and more.

A generation of younger Americans couldn't see that they would ever be out of debt, that they would ever own a house, or have enough money to educate their own children. Their whole families were suffering too. Well, we are now paying attention. Rebecca Damante, a rising senior at Smith, looks at the whole situation, and details Hillary's plan to help.

An elementary school teacher in North Carolina makes $2,500 a month. One-third of that money is earmarked for student loans that started out at $92,700 for her undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Unfortunately, this is the picture of a not so atypical graduate, ten years out of college and a several years out of earning two graduate degrees.

What can the nation do to reduce this financial hardship that touches nearly 44 million students for a total debt of $1.3 million? Hillary Clinton has the answer; she has developed a comprehensive plan that will help upcoming and currently enrolled college students afford higher education as well as debt-ridden students who have graduated in years past.

In July of 2016, Clinton unveiled this new student debt plan, and many applauded her for the plan because it parallels some of Bernie Sanders' plans for tuition-free college.

For example, Clinton's plan offers free tuition for anyone who wants to go to community college. In a world a 4-year private college costs nearly $130,000 for tuition alone, the amount of full-time undergraduates attending community college has increased by four percent over the last decade. Currently, there are 7.3 million students attending community college, and Clinton's plan would make it free for all of them to jump start their education.

In addition, if elected, Clinton plans to make public colleges and state universities much more affordable than they are now. Recent data suggests that families are paying an average of $37,640 for four years at an in-state institution, and few families pay that without accumulating debt.

In fact, data show that 71% of students at four-year colleges will graduate with debt, and typically that debt reaches approximately $25,000 for those enrolled in public college and $32,000 for those at private colleges.

Yet with Clinton's plan, families who make less than $85,000 will immediately be able to enroll in a four-year state college or university without paying any tuition. In addition, in five years, families that make less than $125,000 in income will be granted a tuition-free education. Combined, this initiative will provide free access to college for an estimated 80% of families in the United States.

It's important to note that even with these cost-cutting mechanisms, there are still students that need to take out loans or are struggling to pay back withstanding loans. For example, Andrea Smith* graduated from Sacred Heart University in 2005 with federal loans of $32,700 that now amount to $28,500, and believes she will be paying off loans her entire life. She remarked, "My federal loans have such a high interest rate that most of my money goes toward interest rather than principal each month."

With cases like these in mind, Clinton promises that borrowers will not have to pay more than 10 percent of their monthly incomes to pay back student debt. In addition, she plans to forgive all college debt from federal loans after twenty years.

But in the meantime, Clinton would allow 25 million borrowers to refinance their student loans at current rates, saving them about $2,000 over the life of a loan and giving people like Smith "more money to spend on other necessary items" and a means to get out of debt at some point in their lives.

Clinton's plan also has a variety of other money-saving measures including encouraging employers to assist in paying off student debt, rewarding entrepreneurs with student debt relief, reinstating Pell Grants for low- and middle-income students, and requiring colleges to be accountable for lowering the cost of college access.

Yet one might wonder: with a plan that could cost up to $350 million, how will America be able to pay for this? According to Clinton's official website, the plan will be completely paid for by limiting tax expenditures for taxpayers with high-incomes.

It is also worth noting that Republican candidate Donald Trump has not shared much on the topic of student debt and college tuition. He has admitted that he wants the government to stop making money off of student loans, yet he has not shared anything about how he would cut student debt or reduce the cost of tuition. Clearly, Clinton has a well thought out plan that would provide college access to millions of students across the country. And as Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor once said, "Until we get equality in education, we won't have an equal society."

*names have been changed

###

October 14, 2016