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Raleigh — North Carolina's young adults will continue to face a tough economy--one ravaged not only by recession but also by 30 years of declining opportunity and security for all but the most highly educated and affluent, according to a new report by Demos and the North Carolina Justice Center.

"There is more consensus about the need to go big on college affordability than there has been in previous election cycles."

“There are massive benefits to institutions, to students themselves in the long term in being more diverse and having a set of students from different backgrounds.” 

Senator Elizabeth Warren just unveiled the first plan of the 2020 election cycle that comprehensively addresses both college affordability and student loan debt simultaneously.

“To the extent we have had baby boomers running for president for the past few decades, they got an education in a world when you did not have to take on debt."

"Regardless of dollar amount, the existence of debt is far riskier for low-income and middle-income households."

"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."

The dramatic rise in student loan debt has placed unacceptable risk on working-class families and on people of color, who must take on more debt for the same degree as white students.

"The potential of this plan is that it increases public investment back to levels we saw when college was much more affordable, and it pegs it to a price for students."

New Brief Shows Young Americans Need Wall Street Reform

Washington — Young Americans face "lasting damage" from the dual crises in the financial sector and in personal finance, making it urgent that Congress pass strong financial reform legislation.

Cleveland — Ohio's young adults will continue to face a tough economy--one ravaged not only by recession but also by 30 years of declining opportunity and security for all but the most highly educated and affluent, according to a new report by Policy Matters Ohio and the national policy center 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.”

“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. 

“Not only are students of color more likely to borrow more for a degree, and borrow in higher amounts for the same degree, but they’re more likely to struggle to repay student loans than white students."

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

A debt-free plan “changes the target."

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

“This is a problem that has not gone away but has gotten worse in many communities. It’s enough of a problem that people expect some action on it, and they expect some plan for how to get there.”

The idea of canceling student debt has become a topic of considerable debate. Here's what you need to know about the Warren and Sanders student debt plans and what still needs to be answered.