Elizabeth Warren clashes with Iowa father who calls her student loan policy unfair
'We did the right thing, and we get screwed,' says frustrated father who worked double shifts and saved to put his daughter through college with no student loans
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Your support makes all the difference.Elizabeth Warren was confronted by an angry father at a campaign event in Iowa by an angry father who took issue with her plan to forgive student loan debts.
Arguing that those who paid for college tuition themselves would be “screwed” by her proposal, he confronted the Democratic senator on Monday at a presidential campaign town hall in Grimes, Iowa.
Having waited patiently in line for a photo, he said: “I just wanted to ask one question. My daughter is getting out of school. I've saved all my money. She doesn't have any student loans. Am I going to get my money back?”
“Of course not,” Senator Warren replied.
“So you're going to pay for people who didn't save any money and those of us who did the right thing get screwed,” replied the man in an infuriated tone.
Warren begins to respond, but the man cuts her off and continues: “Of course we did. My buddy had fun, bought a car, went on vacations. I saved my money.”
“He made more than I did. But I worked a double shift, worked extra — my daughter worked since she was 10. So, you're laughing at us,” he continued.
“No, I'm not,” said Warren.
“Yeah, that's exactly what you're doing,” he said. “We did the right thing, and we get screwed,” he added.
“I appreciate your time,” said Warren, seeming to offer a handshake.
“No, that’s alright,” the frustrated man says, walking off and dismissing her gesture.
One of Warren’s campaign slogans is ‘I have a plan for that!’, and she has pledged to eliminate student loan debt of up to $50,000 for households making under $100,000.
This would apply to approximately 95 per cent of borrowers (around 42 million people) and would completely wipe out debt for 75 per cent of those.
There are also plans for the Secretary of Education to rein in the for-profit college industry, crack down on predatory student lending, and combat the racial disparities in our higher education system.
Warren has promised to implement her college plan through executive action, therefore bypassing Congress.
According to fivethirtyeight.com, Warren is currently in fourth place in the Iowa polls with 16.4 per cent, behind Buttigieg (16.6 per cent), Sanders (17.8 per cent), and Biden (21.4 per cent).
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