(CNN) — Sen. Elizabeth Warren is promoting an online calculator that shows voters just how much – exactly – they’d benefit from her proposal to cancel outstanding student loans. Speaking Friday at Iowa State University, the Massachusetts Democrat and 2020 presidential hopeful asked people to take out their phones and plug their debt amounts into the calculator, which is available on her campaign’s website. “Anybody in here have student loan debt? Anybody in here know someone with student loan debt? Okay, I think we got almost everybody,” the Massachusetts Democrat said. The calculator, she added, is “a way to make real to people what it means to talk about student loan debt cancellation.” Warren released her loan forgiveness plan last week, which she says would be paid for by her proposed wealth tax. Her campaign estimates that the one-time debt cancellation would cost $640 billion. Warren’s plan would cancel up to $50,000 in student debt for anyone from households earning less than $100,000 a year. For those Americans, the calculation is simple. But the amount of relief gets gradually smaller as income level goes up. Households that make more than $250,000 would not be eligible for any debt relief. Warren is also proposing to make tuition free at public two- and four-year college for all students, regardless of their family’s income. She wants to increase federal funding for Pell grants, which are awarded to low-income families, as well as invest more money in historically black colleges and universities. The senator also is calling for a ban on for-profit colleges receiving any federal funding. There is broad support among the Democratic presidential candidates for making college more affordable, though they differ on how to achieve that goal. Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kamala Harris of California, and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York – along with Warren – are all co-sponsors of Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz’s Debt-Free College Act. It would establish a matching grant to states that commit to helping students pay for the full cost of attendance without taking out loans. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who helped bring the idea mainstream during his 2016 presidential bid, has introduced his own bill which would make tuition and fees free at public colleges for students whose families earn less than $125,000. But other candidates – including Sen. Amy Klobuchar and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg – have stopped short of embracing a free-college platform. CNN’s Daniella Diaz contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Since Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, announced her plan last month to wipe away the student loans of millions of Americans as part of her presidential campaign, there’s been debate in the policy community about whether it’s a good idea. But some polling data published this week indicates voters are less conflicted. Nearly two-thirds of registered voters polled by news site, The Hill, and market research company, Harris-X, said they would support a plan to make public colleges tuition-free and cancel most existing student loans. The tenets of the plan were presented to voters without Warren’s name attached. Separately, a poll conducted by Business Insider and SurveyMonkey, found that 57% of Americans at least somewhat support Warren’s plan. “ Warren’s critics say wiping away some borrowers’ student debt may not be the best way to address our nation’s $1.5 trillion student-loan problem. ” The polls add to a growing body of evidence that the American public is concerned about the impact of student debt and is thirsty for proposals to address it — even if the issue doesn’t rise to the priority level of more high-profile concerns, like health care, in voters’ minds. The results come amid debate over Warren’s plan. That discussion has included both criticism from experts concerned that wiping away some borrowers’ student debt may not be the best way to address our nation’s $1.5 trillion student-loan problem and complaints online and in the media that the plan would be unfair to borrowers who already paid off their loans. “It’s not surprising to see what we see here where there’s a bit of a lag between what the public viscerally understands is the right direction to take and what the wonks are ready to go for,” said Julie Margetta Morgan, a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, a progressive think tank. Indeed, many higher-education policy experts have taken issue with Warren’s plan, which would cancel $50,000 worth of student debt for those earning less than $100,000 and wipe away up to $50,000 in student loans for those making between $100,000 and $250,000. Their main concern is that the plan would provide a bigger benefit — as measured in dollars — to borrowers earning roughly between $68,000 and $111,000. That’s because these borrowers are more likely to have higher student-debt loads than borrowers who are earning less. (Low-income borrowers, who tend to have lower debt loads, are more likely to have their entire loan balance wiped out under the plan). “ Supporters of Warren’s plan say this debt-financed system is changing the way graduates live their lives, which could put the economy at risk. ” But one thing supporters of debt cancellation, like Margetta Morgan, say those arguments miss one important thing: Even borrowers who aren’t facing the most severe consequences of their student loans, our debt financed higher-education system is still changing the way that they live their lives, which could put the economy at risk. That’s showing up in the polling. More than two-thirds of borrowers surveyed in a Politico and Morning Consult Poll said they’d put off a major purchase because of a student loan. About 40% said they’d delayed a life choice like getting married or having children. The polling data also serves as a reminder that most Americans haven’t yet had personal experience with student loans, said Robert Kelchen, a professor of higher education at Seton Hall University. Nearly 60% of the respondents to the Politico poll said they never had a student loan and another 23% said they had one, but paid it off already. Nonetheless, the data suggests that even those who aren’t personally burdened by student loans are concerned about it. More than half of the respondents to the Politico poll (including those without loans) said student debt is a “major problem” for the country and about 30% of respondents said the issue is a “critical threat” to the economy. The Business Insider poll found that 57% of Americans who already paid off their loans support Warren’s plan. Regardless of whether voters and policy experts agree with Warren’s plan, Kelchen said it’s helped keep student debt towards the front of the policy conversation. And that conversation hasn’t even extended to include serious discussion of major proposals other than debt forgiveness that are part of the plan, he said. Those include a proposal to make public college tuition-free, drastically expand the Pell grant program, ban for-profit colleges from receiving federal financial aid. “The student-debt forgiveness piece is getting almost all the attention, but that’s just one component of the proposal,” Kelchen said.<doc-sep>Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat and 2020 presidential candidate, made headlines last week when she unveiled an ambitious proposal to cancel student-loan debt and make public college free for all. A new INSIDER poll found that 57% of Americans at least somewhat support Warren's plan to cancel 42 million Americans' student debt. The plan found majority support — 57% — among respondents who've already finished paying off their student debt. Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories. A solid majority of Americans — 57% — who've already paid off their student-loan debt support Sen. Elizabeth Warren's ambitious new planto cancel tens of millions of Americans' student debt, according to a new INSIDER poll. The Massachusetts Democrat's proposal would forgive $50,000 in student-loan debt for every American whose family makes up to $100,000, and households that make between $100,000 and $250,000 would get a sliding portion of their debt cancelled. In addition, Warren's plan would make all public higher education, including community colleges, tuition- and fee-free. INSIDER's poll found that 82% of Americans who are paying off student loans support Warren's plan to forgive their debt. Notably, a majority of respondents — 54% — who didn't take out any student loans to pay for higher education support the plan, as do 53% of those who didn't attend college or graduate school. Overall, 57% of Americans at least somewhat support the 2020 candidate's debt-cancellation proposal, and 21% opposed the measure. Thirteen percent of respondents did not either support or oppose the idea, and 9% said they didn't know how they felt about the plan. Warren's plan is vast in scope: It would eliminate all student debt for 75% of Americans who have it, and get rid of at least some debt for 95% of the almost 45 million affected Americans, according to an analysis by four social policy professors released by Warren's campaign. Read more: Warren is trying to tackle the skyrocketing cost of education with a plan to forgive student-loan debt and offer free college, but experts are divided on her ambitious idea The poll also found deep support among Democratic primary voters: 77% of Democrats who said they'd likely vote in the 2020 presidential primary were either somewhat or strongly supportive of the proposal's debt cancellation. SurveyMonkey Audience polls from a national sample balanced by census data of age and gender. Respondents are incentivized to complete surveys through charitable contributions. Generally speaking, digital polling tends to skew toward people with access to the internet. SurveyMonkey Audience doesn't try to weight its sample based on race or income. This survey had a total 1,144 respondents, a margin of error plus or minus 3.07 percentage points with a 95% confidence level.<doc-sep>U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks at the National Forum on Wages and Working People Ethan Miller | Getty Images When Elizabeth Warren released her sweeping student debt forgiveness proposal last month, many borrowers imagined how their lives would transform if their loan balance shrank or disappeared. "Emotionally, it's the biggest thing in the back of your mind," said Dominic DeFelice, 23, who owes more than $100,000. "To have Elizabeth Warren actually come out and have a plan for it felt really good." On Twitter, people described what student debt forgiveness would mean to them and included the hashtag #cancelmydebt. Nearly 45 million Americans hold student loans. Average debt at graduation is currently around $30,000, up from $10,000 in the early 1990s. Repayment is a challenge for many: Every day, 3,000 borrowers default. Warren is the only presidential candidate to issue a detailed plan on student debt forgiveness. Under it, borrowers with household incomes under $100,000 would have $50,000 of their student debt canceled, and those who earn $100,000 to $250,000 would be eligible for relief on a sliding scale. "The time for half measures is over," Warren writes. "My broad cancellation plan is a real solution to our student debt crisis. "It helps millions of families and removes a weight that's holding back our economy." Critics of the proposal, which could cost $1.25 trillion over 10 years, say much of the money would go to borrowers with high incomes who are capable of repaying their debt. Others say the plan only throws money at the larger problem of rising tuition. Still, more than half of Americans say student debt is "a major problem" for the country, according to a new Politico/Morning Consult poll. And it's no wonder people saddled with student debt can't help but dream of a different life (even if the candidate with the proposal trails in the polls): 67 percent of people with student debt say the loans delayed them from buying a house, car or large appliance. Forty percent claimed the debt caused them to put off having a child or getting married. CNBC spoke with borrowers about how the Massachusetts Democratic senator's proposal would change their circumstances. Dominic DeFelice Source: Dominic DeFelice DOMINIC DeFELICE'S bachelor's degree in geology left him $120,000 in the hole. "That amount of money is incomprehensible to someone like me," said the 23-year-old DeFelice. "I should have known that at 17." The entry level jobs to which he's been applying since he graduated last year from Juniata College in Pennsylvania offer annual salaries of around $30,000. After taxes, he calculates, he'd have $2,200 a month to live on. His student loan bill is more than $1,300. (The loans are currently on pause, accruing interest.) "I invested in an education and I don't see a return in sight," DeFelice said. He said his brother, who is 2 years younger and never went to college, makes more money as a security guard. DeFelice noticed a lot of the environmental jobs he hoped to fill require a graduate degree. And so thanks to a grant he received, he recently enrolled at Brooklyn College to get his master's degree in geology. However, he decided to leave school after just one semester, realizing that, given the high cost of living in New York, he'd still have to take out some loans. I could actually plan my life. Dominic DeFelice "It could really amplify my earning potential, but I just can't," he said. "I'm just digging myself deeper when I'm already at rock bottom." Education loans, ironically, can be a barrier to education: One study found that bachelor degree recipients without debt are 70% more likely to enroll in further schooling than those with debt. Under Warren's plan, DeFelice would have $50,000 of his federal loans wiped away, and potentially some of his private loans, too. With a smaller debt load, he said, he could likely finish his schooling and not have to move back in with his parents or his girlfriend's, a reality now on his horizon. "I could actually plan my life," he said. Kanu Mendoza Source: Kanu Mendoza KANU MENDOZA wishes she could work less, but she owes more than $50,000 in student loans. When a disk in her back ruptured, the 52-year-old had to leave the Navy after a two-decade career. To advance in the Navy, she pursued a bachelor's degree in leadership and then a master's in public administration at Bellevue University in Nebraska. Currently, she's a supervisor at an aerospace manufacturing company in San Diego. "If I didn't have that debt hanging over my head, I'd probably find a less demanding job," Mendoza said. "It's difficult when you're in so much pain you don't want to move, but you have to get up and go to work." Student debt is growing fast among older people: In 2018, Americans over age 50 owed more than $260 billion in student loans, up from $36 billion in 2004, according to the Federal Reserve. Mendoza said her $400 monthly student loan bill makes it hard for her to save for retirement. Her pension is just $1,500 a month. "If I didn't have that debt I could retire in the next few years," Mendoza said. "With it, I'm going to be in the workforce another 10 years, if not longer." Morgan Hopkins has paid off more than $12,000 in credit card debt during the break for student loan borrowers. Source: Jaheem J. Green MORGAN HOPKINS would like to start a family. But she owes more than $75,000 in student loans, for her bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology and women's studies. "If I could understand the implication of having this debt forever, I might have made a different choice," Hopkins, 31, said of her education. Today, she works as a national field manager at a nonprofit in Denver.<doc-sep>
The majority of American voters give a thumbs up to Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren's plan to cancel student debt. In a new Politico/Morning Consult poll, 56% of registered voters said they support the Massachusetts senator's proposal to wipe out $640 billion in outstanding education loans by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Just 27% of voters said they opposed the plan. The poll was conducted between May 3 and May 6 and included 1,990 registered voters. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. More from Personal Finance: Your child's sports could be sabotaging your finances Here are the best and worst jobs of 2019 Retirees are flocking to these hot spots Nearly 45 million Americans hold student loans today, and education debt has surpassed credit card or auto debt. Warren is the only presidential candidate to issue a detailed plan on student debt forgiveness. Under it, borrowers with household incomes under $100,000 would have $50,000 of their student debt canceled, and those who earn $100,000 to $250,000 would be eligible for relief on a sliding scale. "My broad cancellation plan is a real solution to our student debt crisis," Warren wrote on Medium last month. "It helps millions of families and removes a weight that's holding back our economy." Women were more likely (37%) than men (31%) to "strongly support" the proposal. Nearly two-thirds of the country's outstanding student loan debt is held by women, due, in part, to the wage gap, which makes it harder for women to pay off their debt as quickly as men. The plan is not just popular among young voters. In fact, 52% of people aged 18 to 29 "strongly support" the debt cancellation plan, compared with 60% of those aged 45 to 54. Student debt has been rising quickly among older people, as repayment timelines drag on and parent borrowing increases. Voters who make under $50,000 a year were more likely (59%) to support the plan than those who earned over $100,000 (47%). While more than half of Democratic voters strongly support the plan, just 17% of Republicans do. Overall, even 52% of voters who've never taken out student loans approve of Warren's proposal. Though among people who currently have student debt, that support rises to 75%.