As voters weigh the candidates’ various proposals heading into the 2020 presidential election, issues around higher education and mounting national student loan debt are factors many are considering before casting a ballot.
Currently, more than 40 million Americans have student loan debt, and collectively they owe the federal government $1.5 trillion. In a poll conducted by Cheddar, 12 percent of prospective voters said they defaulted on their loans with another 8 percent in danger of doing the same.
A Brookings study found that approximately 40 percent of student loan borrowers are expected to default by 2023. The financial strain, particularly in a year where the COVID-19 crisis has piled up hospital bills for many families, has moved student debt planning higher up on the list of critical voting concerns.
Plans for higher education
The Trump administration so far has rolled out the College Scorecard, a tool for prospective college students to navigate the cost of various schools, the earning potential based on major, and secondary higher education options, like apprenticeships. The president largely views higher education as a consumer-driven marketplace.
While federal spending under Trump has reached landmark levels, he plans to slash funds for higher education by $170 billion. The cut would effectively limit access to students in need of financial aid, but the president has shown some flexibility on Pell Grants for lower-income families. Access to government-subsidized loans would also end, leaving those still in school or facing an economic fallout to cover interest fees.
Joe Biden, meanwhile, has a plan to cancel student debt for millions of qualifying students. Those who attended public universities, historically Black colleges and universities, or minority-serving institutions would have their loans wiped out. He also has said that attending public universities should be free for low and middle-income students.
Students from families making less than $125,000 annually would also have their obligations forgiven.
Read More on Trump and Biden's Plans:
Trump vs. Biden on Raising the Federal Minimum Wage
Biden vs. Trump on Student Loans and Higher Education
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
