Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt), the independent candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination, will introduce legislation on Tuesday which would eliminate college tuition at public colleges and universities and would be funded by taxes on stock transactions, sales of bonds, derivatives, and more.
The tax would amount to a fifty-cent levy on every $100 transaction on stocks with smaller amounts on other financial sales.
Sanders had previously advocated tuition-free college for two years, financed by the federal government and the states, which would have totaled $18 billion.
On Sunday, Sanders stated, “We live in a highly competitive global economy and, if our economy is to be strong, we need the best-educated work force in the world. That will not happen if, every year, hundreds of thousands of bright, young people cannot afford to go to college, and if millions more leave school deeply in debt.”
Many politicians see income inequality as a major issue. The gap between the incomes of the top earners and the poorest are wider than they ever have been, and wider than most developed countries. There are 172 advocacy groups in favor of the Sanders proposal. They include nurse, clergy and student groups. The “Robin Hood” aspect of the bill would demand more financial contribution from the one percent.