| Dear Katy, Student debt is an anvil around the necks of an entire generation. It's long past time to stop the half-measures and cancel all student debts outright. With student loan debts exceeding $1.5 trillion and nearly 40% of people expected to default on their loans, this is a crisis that demands bold solutions.1 And while corporate Democrats hedge and Betsy DeVos and Donald Trump do their best to boost for-profit colleges at the expense of students, progressives are proposing real solutions. As a student loan holder herself, progressive champion Rep. Ilhan Omar knows the costs of outrageous education debt firsthand. She, along with Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Sen. Bernie Sanders, is leading the way with the most aggressive student debt cancellation plan yet ‒ and now they need our help to build a tidal wave of momentum. Tell Congress to cancel all student loan debts. Click here to sign the petition: Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos see students as little more than ATMs for Wall Street speculators. DeVos' proposed Department of Education budget would further defund public education and drive students into the hands of for-profit institutions. Her department lets the companies that collect federal student loan payments cheat and lie to students. She issued rules to help debt collectors skirt aggressive state laws and has personal financial ties to shady debt collection firms. She is even refusing to forgive the loans of the countless students defrauded by predatory for-profit colleges.2,3,4 Meanwhile, the progressive base of the Democratic Party is showing what it means to put students first. Rep. Omar's and Sen. Sanders' plan would entirely eliminate loans held or guaranteed by the federal government and take aggressive steps to forgive pernicious and often-predatory private student loans. Today's student debt crisis emerges from a decades-long attempt to shift the costs of education from the ultra-wealthy onto less well-off Americans and communities of color. Now, education debt is holding back our economy and destroying lives. It prevents young people from buying homes or starting new businesses and even keeps seniors from retiring. Unlike other forms of debt, it cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. Cancelling all student loan debt would provide a massive economic stimulus, liberate an entire generation and strike a blow against Wall Street. We need to speak out now. Tell Congress to cancel all student loan debts. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/omar-student-debt?t=9&akid=32973%2E12967895%2ElFr4FW Thank you for speaking out, Heidi Hess, Co-Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: - Zack Friedman, "Elizabeth Warren: Here's My Plan To Cancel Student Loan Debt," Forbes, June 17, 2019.
- Andy Kroll, "The Government's Trillion-Dollar Student Loan Office Is a Train Wreck," Rolling Stone, Feb. 22, 2019.
- Mary Bottari, "Betsy DeVos Ethics Report Reveals Ties to Student Debt Collection Firm," PR Watch, Jan. 25, 2017.
- Erica Green, "Education Department Has Stalled on Debt Relief for Defrauded Students," The New York Times, April 5, 2019.
Photo: Kerem Yucel/AFP/Getty Images |
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