On April 25, 2012 the total amount of student loan debt in the U.S. was expected to top 1 trillion dollars.
Throughout the country the Occupy Student Debt Campaign conducted various direct actions to raise awareness about this crisis as part of a new movement to make education a right.
In New York City’s Union Square, Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir presided over a debt jubilee – an emancipatory student loan debt write-off for all!
The Federal Reserve disputes the figure, saying U.S. student debt is currently $870 billion.
President Barack Obama and his Republican opponent Mitt Romney have called attention to the issue on the campaign trail to try to court the college-age vote.
U.S. Senate Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives have proposed separate bills to keep interest rates for poor and middle class students at the current level for another year.
Currently, interest rates for students are set to double on July 1.
Republicans want to pay for the measure by using money from a public health and prevention fund created by the president’s health care reform law.
The Democratic bill would be paid for in part by increasing corporate tax rates, a move opposed by the GOP.
The event also featured Jill Stein, Green Party Presidential Candidate and ended with a march down to Wall Street.
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For More Information Visit:
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http://www.1tday.org
http://www.jillstein.org
http://www.revbilly.com
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