Why first-time female voters should care about student loan debt policies

As a young woman beginning the college admissions process, I’m finding the prospect of having to take on student loan debt is incredibly anxiety-inducing. The looming threat of loans has put extreme pressure on me to do well on standardized tests, as most merit scholarships are based upon those scores. And even with the possibility of scholarships, I have focused my college search based solely on schools’ price tags rather than their academic programs or if the environment is a right fit for me.

I’m hardly the only high school student stressed about navigating what could be crippling student loan debt. This debt has already reached $1.5 trillion, and women, who make up the greatest population of student-debt owers, are particularly burdened by debt’s harsh effects on everyday life. Due to the ever-present lack of full economic autonomy for women, and the still relevant wage gap, women’s lives are disproportionately disadvantaged. Specifically, 57 percent of black loan-paying women did not have enough funds for their essential expenses.

Thus, student loan and debt plans are a make-or-break issue for me and thousands of other first-time voters in the upcoming presidential election. For those in this struggle as well, here is a handy guide to where the 2020 presidential candidates stand on the student debt issue.

Bernie Sanders: an independent senator from Vermont, has made free college a cornerstone of his presidential campaign platforms. Sanders also plans to effectively cut interest rates in half by reverting them to the much lower rate they were prior to 2006 (at which point a fixed interest rate was implemented). Additionally, Sanders asserts that people should be able to refinance their loans at the current federal level, which is 3.5 percent, as opposed to the levels that existed when they took on the loans.

Kamala Harris: a Democratic senator from California, has also supported the policy of loan refinancing being on par with the current federal lending amounts. Further, she wants to institute a repayment system based on income.

Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic Massachusetts senator, believes in debt-free college and the idea of connecting an individual’s income to their loan repayment. She believes those who earn $100,000 a year or less should have up to $50,000 of their debts canceled. This specific plan for forgiveness would completely rid 75 percent of people of their debt and help 95 percent of those who are still in debt.  

Cory Booker, a New Jersey senator, introduced a plan that is seemingly more preventative of future debt than it is reactive to the trillions of dollars of debt that already exist. Booker introduced a Baby Bonds plan, which would put $1,000 per year — and up to $2,000 per year for lower-income families — into savings accounts for newborns, which they could use for tuition later, eliminating the need to take out loans altogether. This plan would ultimately aid black students the greatest, as they assume 85 percent more private loans than white students.

Kirstin Gillibrand, a New York senator, has introduced the Public Servant Loan Forgiveness program — a bill that most of the Democratic candidates support. This legislation expands on a program that already exists and establishes loan forgiveness for those working lower-paying public service jobs. Gillibrand’s program, however, makes it easier for more people to qualify for the compelling 50 percent forgiveness after five years.

Not all Democratic presidential candidates agree with how far these candidates have taken their proposals, however. Beto O’Rourke, a House representative from Texas, is against debt-free college for all but supports free community college plans. As stated in a CNN town hall, O’Rourke does not have a specific plan but asserts that current loans should be refinanced at the lowest rate possible. Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has spoken publicly about how his husband and he both still struggle to repay their own student loans, and supports a debt-free tuition for public colleges. He does not, however, outline a specific plan beyond expanding Pell grants and encouraging state support for higher education. Former Vice President Joe Biden has not proposed any plans of his own related to student loan debt and seems to be focusing his platform more on reforms in the K-12 public school system.

President Donald Trump, assumed Republican candidate, proposed a plan this May to institute loan forgiveness after 25 years and cap the repay rate at 12.5 percent. However, he would also like to introduce a cap on the amount of money borrowed from the federal government, which introduces a limit to the amount borrowed by students.

As an issue so close to the hearts of the young adults of the nation, student loan debt will inevitably be a decisive issue in the 2020 presidential election. According to a study done by Junior Achievement USA, 94 percent of teens plan to attend college and 69 percent want a debt-free college model instituted. These students (and future loan payers) are also our newest voting citizens, and all candidates would do well to remember that.