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Charlotte Talks: Rising College Tuition, Student Loan Debt Catch Attention Of 2020 Democrats

Flickr / COD Newsroom

Monday, July 29, 2019

The high cost of college and rising student debt are major topics in the Democratic presidential race. Why are costs rising, and what can a president do to slow them down?

Among the large field of 2020 candidates, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been the leading voices of tuition-free college and erasing the $1.5 trillion in student loan debt that Americans owe.

A recent New York Times survey found nearly 60 percent of respondents favored "free college." But even some Democratic candidates are opposed to the idea, saying it would disproportionately benefit the wealthy.

What can the government do to address the cost of college and the student loan crisis? What's driving them in the first place?

GUESTS

Chris Marsicano, Davidson College, visiting assistant professor of educational studies (@chrismarsicano)

Colleen Campbell, Center for American Progress, director for postsecondary education (@collecamp)

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