Pay it Forward, Pay it Back: Oregon is moving on a creative plan to end student debt

[susan]

In the face of our $1 trillion student loan debt crisis, one state is taking action.  After a campaign led by the state's Working Families Party and students at Portland State University, Oregon recently passed a bill that instructs the state's Higher Education Coordination Commission to develop a "Pay It Forward, Pay It Back" plan to fund higher education. Under the plan, students pay nothing while in school, then pay a fixed percentage of their income to fund higher education going forward. As Katrina vanden Heuvel writes, the idea represents a "huge stride toward putting an end to the crushing debt horror stories which Occupy Wall Street helped to place on the national radar." Since 2003, the average student loan burden for a twenty-five-year-old with student debt has grown an astounding 93 percent. With 10 percent of student loan borrowers owing more than $54,000, many young people are finding large purchases such as a house or a car to be nearly impossible. Clearly, the status quo is not sustainable.  Head to TheNation.com to contact your state representatives and implore them to introduce a "Pay It Forward, Pay It Back" plan in your state. All best, Sarah Arnold, The Nation

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