U.S. presidential contender Bernie Sanders proposed a plan on Monday to cancel $1.6 trillion in student loans and pay for it with a tax on Wall Street, elevating the issue in the 2020 debate and going beyond proposals from his Democratic White House rivals.
Sanders, an independent U.S. senator from Vermont, said his plan would wipe out college debt for 45 million Americans and be funded with a tax on stock, bond and derivatives transactions that would raise about $2.2 trillion over 10 years.
The proposal builds on Sanders' longstanding call to make public universities and colleges tuition-free, an issue he has highlighted since his first presidential run in 2016. He said student loan debt was economically crippling young Americans.