Bernie's Bills

Politics are in season. Theresa May has announced her resignation, and now Boris Johnson is building a "cabinet for modern Britain" as the next appointed Prime Minister. He's optimistic about building a new Brexit deal, and to "take advantage of all the opportunities that it can bring."

Meanwhile in the US of A, the DNC is gearing up for its next set of debates with the surviving candidates— those who've managed to achieve the requisite fundraising quotas. Bob Mueller is prepping for his public testimony tomorrow with Aaron Zebley, his top aide on the Russia investigation— much to Trump's disappointment.

To be fair, I have a Bernie sign in my car from when he spoke in Pittsburgh. Bernie mostly emphasized his work in support of unions; however, more recently, he announced his plan to dissolve student debt and make public universities tuition-free.

On his website, Bernie says he will "Cancel the entire $1.6 trillion in outstanding student debt", and I'm totally on board! 😀 But how are you going to do it Bernie?? Could he actually achieve student loan forgiveness for an estimated 45 million student borrowers?

On berniesanders.com, the self-declared "democratic socialist" lays out his plans:

"To pay for this, we will impose a tax of fraction of a percent on Wall Street speculators who nearly destroyed the economy a decade ago. This Wall Street speculation tax will raise $2.4 trillion over the next ten years. It works by placing a 0.5 percent tax on stock trades— 50 cents on every $100 of stock— a 0.1 percent fee on bond trades, and a 0.005 percent fee on derivative trades." in debt?"

He's not just talking out his butt! There's a plan! In addition to the info on Sander's website, I also dug up a link to the official "Student Debt Cancellation Act of 2019" on sanders.senate.gov— embedded within the "College for All Act of 2019". I also found an earlier draft of Senator Sanders' bill which was introduced in 2017.

The 2019 version includes "TITLE IV"— "Student Debt Cancellation". I'll give it a more thorough read— as should you— especially if you're a recent graduate with hundreds of thousands in debt (like me). At first glance, it looks like any debt originating from loans disbursed by private lenders would not be forgiven— only "eligible Federal student loan[s]..."

I'll write back when I learn more! Yep, it's an intense moment in American (and international) politics. Stop back on July 30th and 31st on my democratic debates page for live debate coverage and chat! Participate as a citizen and support the candidates you care about so they can advance in America's Got Talent the debates! If you know more about Bernie's bills, leave a comment in the discussion section below!