One of the many issues given little attention in this election is access to affordable college education. Bernie proposed free college tuition and persuaded Hillary on the idea. Trump's website says he wants it to be "easy to access, pay for and finish.
Today 44 million people have student loan debt totaling $1.3 trillion and the average debt for a 2016 graduate is $37K. There was a time when graduates accumulated debt for houses, cars and furniture which stimulated the economy and now they're living back at home. Now seriously, what kid really WANTS to live with their parents after graduation?
In KS where my son graduated from a public university, 4 years of room, board and tuition cost $80K and for my daughter in CO, four years out of state tuition at a public university will cost $160K. Since 1985, a year after I graduated college, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) - how much stuff costs - has increased 147% while the cost of college has increased 500%. YIKES!!!!!
If we want better candidates, we need to be educated. If we want better jobs, we need to be educated. If we want healthier lives, we need to be educated. If we want less racism, we need to be educated. If we want to grow the economy, we need to be educated.
Politicians get elected and defeated, jobs come and go, walls get built and torn down, terrorism spikes and decreases, tweets get sent and deleted, immigrants settle and flee, but the positive impact of education on all societies is everlasting.
(Loan Debt and CPI stats sourced from http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveodland/2012/03/24/college-costs-are-soaring/#73e0d275641b)