SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"People deserve a future unencumbered by the burden of student debt," said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). (Photo: Joe Brusky/flickr/cc)
By Wide, Bipartisan Majority, New Poll Affirms Key Progressive Demand: Congress Should Act to Lessen Crushing Student Debt
New poll comes on heels of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) saying that students are "shouldering a trillion and a half dollars in student loan debt and it's crushing an entire generation."
Jan 06, 2019
A new poll out Monday points to a progressive mandate for the 116th Congress--it's "extremely important" to do something about the crushing student debt crisis, now at a record high $1.465 trillion, a bipartisan majority says.
The Politico/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health survey asked Americans to prioritize six educational policy areas, and according to a bipartisan majority--79 percent--"finding ways to lessen student debt" should be the top priority. That belief was backed by 87 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of Republicans who said tackling student debt was "extremely important."
The poll also revealed strong support for "increasing spending on K-12 public education." Overall, 76 percent of respondents said it was an extremely important priority, landing it the number two spot. That strong backing came from 88 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans.
As Siona Peterous recently laid out at Inequality.org, "With more than 44.5 million people in some type of student loan debt, it's increasingly becoming part of the platforms of high-profile progressive policymakers."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), for one, has denounced the "grotesque amounts" of education-related debt plaguing former students, while newly-sworn in Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) recently declared student debt "nothing but a continuation of class divides that persist because of structural inequity."
"People deserve a future unencumbered by the burden of student debt," she said, "and the money they save will be immediately put back into our economy."
For her part, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who recently threw her name into the 2020 presidential race, said on Saturday that students are "shouldering a trillion and a half dollars in student loan debt and it's crushing an entire generation."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A new poll out Monday points to a progressive mandate for the 116th Congress--it's "extremely important" to do something about the crushing student debt crisis, now at a record high $1.465 trillion, a bipartisan majority says.
The Politico/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health survey asked Americans to prioritize six educational policy areas, and according to a bipartisan majority--79 percent--"finding ways to lessen student debt" should be the top priority. That belief was backed by 87 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of Republicans who said tackling student debt was "extremely important."
The poll also revealed strong support for "increasing spending on K-12 public education." Overall, 76 percent of respondents said it was an extremely important priority, landing it the number two spot. That strong backing came from 88 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans.
As Siona Peterous recently laid out at Inequality.org, "With more than 44.5 million people in some type of student loan debt, it's increasingly becoming part of the platforms of high-profile progressive policymakers."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), for one, has denounced the "grotesque amounts" of education-related debt plaguing former students, while newly-sworn in Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) recently declared student debt "nothing but a continuation of class divides that persist because of structural inequity."
"People deserve a future unencumbered by the burden of student debt," she said, "and the money they save will be immediately put back into our economy."
For her part, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who recently threw her name into the 2020 presidential race, said on Saturday that students are "shouldering a trillion and a half dollars in student loan debt and it's crushing an entire generation."
A new poll out Monday points to a progressive mandate for the 116th Congress--it's "extremely important" to do something about the crushing student debt crisis, now at a record high $1.465 trillion, a bipartisan majority says.
The Politico/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health survey asked Americans to prioritize six educational policy areas, and according to a bipartisan majority--79 percent--"finding ways to lessen student debt" should be the top priority. That belief was backed by 87 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of Republicans who said tackling student debt was "extremely important."
The poll also revealed strong support for "increasing spending on K-12 public education." Overall, 76 percent of respondents said it was an extremely important priority, landing it the number two spot. That strong backing came from 88 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans.
As Siona Peterous recently laid out at Inequality.org, "With more than 44.5 million people in some type of student loan debt, it's increasingly becoming part of the platforms of high-profile progressive policymakers."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), for one, has denounced the "grotesque amounts" of education-related debt plaguing former students, while newly-sworn in Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) recently declared student debt "nothing but a continuation of class divides that persist because of structural inequity."
"People deserve a future unencumbered by the burden of student debt," she said, "and the money they save will be immediately put back into our economy."
For her part, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who recently threw her name into the 2020 presidential race, said on Saturday that students are "shouldering a trillion and a half dollars in student loan debt and it's crushing an entire generation."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy