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Here's where Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders stand on college affordability
(REUTERS/Randall Hill)
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders at a debate.
If he wins the White House, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' political revolution would reshape much of the American healthcare, campaign-finance, and finance systems.
But if elected, Sanders' most lasting impact for thousands of younger Americans could be his plan to radically shift who pays for public colleges and universities.
"We have hundreds of thousands of bright young people today who cannot afford to go to college," Sanders said last year. "That is crazy and unfair not only to the young people, but to the future of our economy."
While Hillary Clinton's plan aims to make college "debt free," which would require families to contribute some money based on their need, Sanders' plan is a simpler, across-the-board proposal to essentially eliminate tuition at all major public universities.
Many conservatives mocked Sanders' $700 billion plan, but Clinton's campaign has taken the plan and the support it has garnered from debt-saddled college students very seriously.
The former secretary of state asserts that her proposal is less burdensome on the economy and more targeted to help those in need. Clinton backers also claim that Sanders' official plan does nothing to help lower the cost of nonpublic institutions, including historically black colleges and universities
"I believe that we should make community college free. We should have debt-free college if you got to a public college or university. You should not have to borrow a dime to pay tuition," Clinton said. "I disagree with free college for everybody. I don’t think taxpayers should be paying to send Donald Trump's kids to college."
Here's how Clinton's and Sanders' plans stack up:
(Samantha Lee/Business Insider)
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