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“This is a problem that has not gone away but has gotten worse in many communities."

"The ability to pay off your loans has everything to do with wages and the ability to gain secure employment, it has everything to do with housing affordability, it has everything to do with child-care costs."

A new report from the left-leaning think tank Demos argues that looking at borrowers' income alone provides limited insight into student loan burdens.

The Case for Bold, Equitable Student Loan Cancellation and Reform

"Every qualified student—regardless of their color, gender, or financial situation—should be able to pursue their educational dreams."

A debt-free plan “changes the target."

"State governments have disinvested from public colleges and universities for a few decades now, and we need to reverse those trends."

“Your income or your family’s wealth is extremely predictive of whether you’re going to go college at all and certainly what program you’re going to do."

With the country’s total student loan debt amounting to about $1.5 trillion, borrowers lose an average of $208,000 in lifetime wealth accumulation that could have come from retirement savings, investments or home purchases, according to studies from Washington, D.C.-based think tank Demos.

“If you compare this to some of the other gifts given in higher education, it’s incredibly stark, and I would hope points us to a smarter, better model of philanthropy where people’s lives are genuinely being transformed.”