Bernie Sanders is rising in popularity among Americans, namely the younger generation of millennials. While his campaign does promise, “A Future to Believe In,” one of his plans for the future is to create a plan for tuition-free college. Considering that young people all over America are putting themselves thousands of dollars in debt by committing to higher education for a better future, the plan is definitely easy to put your faith into.
Many people have been critics of Sanders plan, and Ben Carson even went as far as stating that it would hurl the United States towards the path of destruction. Others claim that Sanders plan is unrealistic and would actually cause the country to lose more money than it would save the students. However, according to a study done by the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMASS), the affordable college act is not outside the realm of possibility.
When Sanders introduced his “College for All Act” during last May, he stated that it would attach a tax on stock trades in Wall Street for additional funding. The study by UMASS found that passing the tax would generate approximately $680 billion a year, and roughly $340 billion during years when revenue was down. The estimated cost of his college tuition plan is roughly $47 billion a year for the federal government and $23 billion for the states, meaning that his so called “Robin Hood” tax on Wall Street would generate more than enough funds for the plan.
Republicans and others who still oppose the plan want to avoid becoming the one percent who would be taxed for the bill, even though it is completely feasible.