As student debt and the rising cost of education become one of the pressing issues for the American adults, most of them are considering to vote for the Democratic party or Bernie Sanders to address their concerns.
According to a new LendEDU survey, 48 percent of adults who have student debt expressed their support for the Democrat Party in the 2020 primaries and election. Some 40 percent of respondents backed Sanders when it comes to selecting a Democratic presidential candidate during their state’s primary.
LendEDU surveyed 1,000 adult Americans that currently have student loan debt and plan on voting in the 2020 primaries and election.
Overall 24, percent vouched for Joe Biden, 13 percent for Elizabeth Warren, 11 percent for Kamala Harris and 5 percent plan to vote for Pete Buttigieg. About 40 percent of the respondents backed the Republican Party.
Nearly half of the respondents think Sanders is the best-suited candidate who can tackle the price of higher education and the $1.52 trillion in outstanding student loan debt.
In June, Sanders had introduced a bill that would completely eliminate student debt by imposing a tax on Wall Street and make two and four-year public and tribal colleges and universities tuition-free and debt-free.
Biden, who released his education plan in May, promised to fix and simplify the existing Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program to help teachers and educators to pay off their student debts. His proposal also includes working with historically black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions to recruit and prepare more teachers of color.
In her education plan, Warren had proposed a partial debt relief to students. She, along with Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC), introduced a bill that will cancel $50,000 of student debt held by borrowers with household incomes under $100,00. Those belonging to families which earn between $100,000 to $250,000 annually would be eligible for relief on a sliding scale.
Buttigieg had favored creating a federal partnership that would make public tuition affordable for all and completely free for those with lower household incomes. He also proposed largely increasing Pell Grants that help students with basic living expenses and keep up with inflation.
More than half of the respondents said that President Donald Trump has failed to tackle the price of higher education and outstanding student debt.
When it comes to suggesting the most effective way to fix the higher ed. cost and debt crisis, 59 percent of adults cited capping tuition prices, holding colleges more accountable for affordability as a possible solution, while 32 percent answered called for forgiving all $1.52 trillion in student loan debt.