As the first set of Democratic candidates took the stage for the second round of presidential debates, some 2020 hopefuls criticized Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) plan to totally eliminate student loan debt by providing free college for all Americans.
During the debate, Sanders called for a political revolution to force Wall Street to pay for the crisis with a tax.
The "ultra-wealth tax" has gained steam among progressives in the race, like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Because college costs are so high, Sanders argues, the wealth gap widens as most families are unable to pay for tuition. Therefore, his plan calls for the termination of student loan debt and would make two- and four-year public and tribal colleges and universities tuition-free and debt-free.
However, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg who, in the last debate said he and his husband have a "six-figure student debt," rejected Sanders's plan to terminate all debt throughout the U.S., even though it would presumably mean his own family's debt would be forgiven.
<i>Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., from left, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. / Photo Credit: Paul Sancya/AP/Shutterstock</i>
"That'd be great for us," Buttigieg said. "And then the next day there would be a student loan program and people would be out taking student loans wondering why they weren't lucky enough in timing to get theirs wiped away completely too."
Rather, the youngest candidate in the race proposed a plan to enact debt-free college for low- and middle-income students by expanding Pell Grants and "compelling states to pick up more of the burden." He also said he would open up access to a public service loan forgiveness program.
Like Buttigieg, former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke also disagreed with Sanders's plan for free college.
O'Rourke said he supports free two-year colleges, and debt-free four-year programs. He noted that his plan includes free board and books, a difference from other candidates' proposals.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, has said that taking on student debt is personal; however, she is wary of whose debt should be forgiven.
"I want to make it easier for kids to go to college, and I think we do it by using our resources on the people that need it the most," Klobuchar said Tuesday night.
Klobuchar critiqued Sanders's plan that would pay for all Americans to attend college, including students who are not in need. "It would literally pay for wealthy kids, for Wall Street kids, to go to college for free," she said.
Rather than providing free college to all young adults, Klobuchar said she plans to refinance loans and expand repayments for teachers.
The only candidate to offer support for Sanders' plan was author Marianne Williamson, who said a candidate must focus on stimulating the economy: "The best thing to do to stimulate this economy is to get rid of this debt."
Warren spoke briefly about her plan to end student debt, which includes universal, tuition-free college for all kids, increased Pell Grants and increasing funding in historically black colleges and universities by $50 billion. "It cancels student loan debt for 95 percent of the kids with student loan debt, and helps close the black-white wealth gap in America," said Warren
For more on 2020 candidates' plan to fix the student loan debt, click here.
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Georges Archibald, Head of Apex Americas at Apex Group joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden expected to unveil details on a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for businesses in coming days.
This comes just days after The White House issued separate vaccine mandates for federal contractors across the country. Mark Kluger, Founding Partner, employment law firm Kluger Healey joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Later today House Republicans will grill Snap, Tiktok and Youtube on how their products affect the mental health of teenagers. It comes after a report revealed that Facebook's photo sharing platform, Instagram, can be harmful to teen's mental health. Rishi Bharwani, Director of Partnerships and Policy, Accountable Tech joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
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Marjorie Mesidor, Esq., Partner, Phillips and Associates, PLLC and Dr. Anthony Santela, professor of health administration and university covid coordinator at the University of New Haven join J.D. Durkin and None Of The Above to talk about the expected fallout from New York City's vaccine mandate.
Leaders around the world have come together to discuss plans to bring action towards the Paris Agreement along with solutions on how to solve the evolving climate change crisis at the COP26 Summit. President and CEO of Center for International Environmental Law Carroll Muffett, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Rachel Cleetus, the policy director and lead economist of the climate and energy program for the Union of Concerned Scientists, joined Cheddar to break down some of the key goals from the COP26 summit and why leaders must focus on the science of climate change instead of getting bogged down by petty politics and the fossil fuel industry. "The main thing they have to do, make sure we're cutting our emissions sharply within this decade because the science shows that we have to cut global emissions in half by 2030 if we're going to meet our goals of averting some of the most catastrophic impacts of climate change," she said.
Carlo and Baker cover the big races to watch on this off-cycle Election Day, the concrete pledges starting to come out of COP26, Jeffrey Epstein keeps causing CEOs to lose their jobs, and Ryan Murphy's TV hit that wasn't.
The Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq begin November by not only ending Monday's session higher but with a record close as well. Melissa Armo, Founder and Owner of The Stock Swoosh, has her eye on major economic storylines and joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what role the news could play on Wall Street.
The UN climate change conference kicked off on Sunday with about 120 world leaders and delegates gathering in Glasgow, Scotland this week, as experts continue to warn about the harms of heightened emissions and the effects on climate change. The topic of ESG investing is expected to be a top priority at the summit. Jefferies global head of ESG and sustainability research Aniket Shah joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
