"The justification for student debt as the primary way we pay for college has been in part based on the assumption that we’ll have consumer protections in place, and we’ll try to make it as painless as possible for people."
Warren’s proposal takes this idea several leaps further by arguing that the debt isn’t just a problem for some people in some cases, said Mark Huelsman associate director of research and policy at Demos, a left-leaning think tank. Instead, Warren framed her proposal as an antidote to a debt-financed higher education system that’s been a policy failure.