Hillary Clinton is making big moves this week. Now that her email scandal is in the past, she’s swept in to grab as many Bernie Sanders supporters as she can while simultaneously gaining a blessing from the Dogg father. Clinton announced Wednesday that she supports the elimination of public college tuition for lower income students, or families making less than $125,000 a year. This move may sound a little unoriginal, but it’s nonetheless noble and could make college free for massive chunks of the population.
Her proposed “New College Compact” is a step into Bernie Sanders’ realm and looks a whole lot like his Higher Education Platform. Her campaign has owned up to the fact that it’s no coincidence, the unveiling of her plan came shortly after a series of private meetings with Sanders.
While Sanders initially pushed to eliminate tuition completely at public universities, Clinton advocated for “debt-free” higher-learning, which means, individuals coming from well-off families would have to pay a substantial amount out of pocket at four-year public universities. This could be a reasonable compromise for those Democrats who aren’t yet sure how to vote in the general election.
To set things in motion, Clinton said a three-month “moratorium” would be in order on federal loan payments. A time period that would be used to move current borrowers into structured plans that would have them paying in smaller slices or at lower interest rates, and furthermore, to rehabilitate the loans of those in default.
Sanders has even stepped forward to praise Clinton’s new motion:
I applaud @HillaryClinton for the very bold initiative she has just brought forth for the financing of higher education.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 6, 2016
Historically, Clinton had stood up against Sanders’ free-college plan and caught flack for it. “I disagree with free college for everybody,” she said last November. “I don’t think taxpayers should be paying to send Donald Trump’s kids to college.” Many would agree.
By bureaucratic standards, she would even set things in motion in a quick five year period. Starting with families making less than $85,000 a year and completely nixing tuition for families making under $125,000 by 2021. It’s a bold move by the Clinton camp and a surefire way to gain the attention of the wandering Bernie supporters.