Sanders: Tax on Wall Street Speculation Will Pay for Public College Education

SANDERS: "I am not proposing, and very often it gets misunderstood, I am not proposing free college for all. What I am proposing is free tuition at public colleges and universities. That is what I am proposing. And I am also proposing to substantially lower the outrageous level of student debt that millions of people in the country are currently carrying. Why am I doing this? I am doing this because today in many respects a college degree is the equivalent of what a high school degree was 50 years ago. The world has changed. The economy has changed. People need more education. That is why I believe that we should make public colleges and universities tuition-free so that anybody in this country who has the ability, who has the qualifications will be able to get a college degree, regardless of the income of his or her family. And like you, I came from a family that didn't have a lot of money, and first generation to go to college, but I want every kid in this country who is in the sixth grade or the fourth grade to understand that if he or she studies hard, does well , they will be able to go to college regardless of the income of their family. And we are going to pay for that. And I will tell you how we will pay for this. I have been criticized, because it is an expensive proposition, a and it is $70 billion a year, and some of you will remember that back in 2008, Congress bailed out Wall Street after their greed and illegal behavior nearly destroyed our economy. I believe that we should impose a tax on Wall Street speculation. If we could bail out Wall Street, now it is Wall Street's time to help the the middle class of this country."