Sanders: ‘We Are Going to Cancel All Student Debt in this Country’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) promised to make colleges and universities “debt-free” and vowed to “cancel all student debt” in the U.S. during the third Democrat debate in Houston, Texas, Thursday evening.

Sanders reiterated a range of promises for teachers and students, pledging to raise teacher salaries to at least $60,000 per year, make colleges and universities debt-free, and “cancel all student debt.”

“We have teachers in this country who are leaving education because they can’t work two or three jobs to support themselves, which is why under my legislation, we’ll move to see that every teacher in America makes at least $60,000 a year,” Sanders said.

“What we will also do is not only have universal pre-k, we will make public colleges and universities … debt free,” he continued.

“And what we will also do– because this is an incredible burden on millions and millions of young people who did nothing wrong except try to get the education they need – we are going to cancel all student debt in this country,” he added, noting that he will erase the financial burden by “imposing a tax on Wall Street speculation.”

Sanders proposed a plan – the College For All Act – to cancel $1.6 trillion worth of student debt over the summer, which is estimated to cost roughly $2 trillion. As Sanders suggested in the debate, it would be paid for, supporters claim, with a series of taxes imposed on Wall Street.