Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean is pushing his plan to help make higher education more affordable at rallies today at campuses in Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids and Ames. Dean proposes each college student gets at least 10-thousand dollars in loans or grants, depending on their financial situation. Dean’s payback schedule calls for college loan payments that are no more than 10 percent of a person’s income, and after 10 years of paying, you’re done — whether the loans are paid back or not. Dean would sweeten the deal for those who choose a “public service” profession like teaching, social work, nursing or policing. Dean says he would keep one of the many promises President Bush made but broke by ensuring expansion of the AmeriCorps program which pays young people who commit to a public service tour in this country — fashioned after the Peace Corps program. Dean says his higher ed proposals would cost seven billion dollars.
