National Nurses United

M A R C H | A P R I L 2 0 1 7 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 9 been a centerpiece of the expansion of democracy in the United States—an effort that has always struggled against great odds. From the earliest days of the republic, when education was largely confined to the children of the elite and the privileged, education reformers fought to extend education to working-class white families, to African Americans, to women. That struggle was directly linked to expanding the right to vote beyond white, male proper- ty owners, to the abolition of slavery, to eradicating a library full of restrictions on women's full participation in society, to ending legal segregation. The power of education for all goes beyond a diverse and inclusive society as well. Or as Nelson Mandela put it simply, "education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. But two centuries of progress are at risk after four decades of neoliberal policies that have pushed back that opportunity, at the hands of those who would limit access to education, and the Wall Street and banking interests who have exploited that right. Let's emphasize that debt to Wall Street again– $1.3 trillion. In the days after World War II, many public universities and colleges were tuition free. Those days have ended and student debt alone is again turning our institutions into a vanishing dream for too many among the 99 percent of our nation. Bernie Sanders understands what is at stake, and it's why he made eradicating student debt and opening the doors of high- er education a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. It's also why he has again spon- sored a College for All Act, S. 806, which was introduced in March with Caitlyn Thomas and a host of other progressive legislators at his side. "Our job is to do everything possible to make it easier for people to get the educa- tion they need," Sen. Sanders said. Introducing a companion bill in the House, H.R. 1880, Rep. Pramila Jayapal recalled the efforts of her own immigrant parents to save money so that she could go to college "and now I'm the first Indian-Ameri- can woman in the House of Representatives. "There's nothing normal about not being able to buy a house or start a family because of the burdens of student debt," she said, noting how she has heard "too many stories of women having to choose breast cancer surgery over getting a degree." Who should pay for this simple but revo- lutionary reform? The same financial inter- ests who profiteer off student debt. The funding source for S. 806 and H.R. 1880 is the Robin Hood Tax that NNU members have campaigned for years to enact. It would establish a small fee on Wall Street speculation, far less than most Americans pay in sales taxes for virtually all consumer purchases. "I am a single mother of one daughter," a Kansas City RN, Samantha, told us not long ago. "I had my daughter at age 21. I went back to college at age 25, attended full time and worked part time and graduated in four-and-a-half years years." Even after getting her RN degree, "I have no health insurance and I work 50 hours per week and I am still unable to pay all of my student loan payments each month." "Before I went to college I had zero debt. No car payment, no credit card payments, no loan," Samantha said. "Now I am over $100,000 in debt between credit cards, a used car payment, loans, and student loan debt. If my daughter doesn't get scholar- ships to college, there is no way I can pay for it unless I take student loans for her. It's overwhelming and hopeless. I am almost 38 now and I have no savings." "The labor movement made demands for free public education. Suddenly middle and working class kids could get education," recalled Rep. Keith Ellison, author of the House version of the Robin Hood tax, H.R. 1144. "Now the most privileged in our coun- try want to go back." Sanders, Ellison, Jayapal see the connec- tions clearly. "This legislation is one piece," Jayapal noted, "and now we need grassroots political pressure to demand what's right: passing this bill." RoseAnn DeMoro is executive director of National Nurses United. In our stratified society based all too often on socioeconomic status and class, education is increasingly a barometer for the opportunity to have a good-paying job, decent healthcare coverage, and other living conditions that constitute a civil society. About 70 percent of new nurses used student loans to finance their education. Average debt for nurses similar to other graduates: $30,000 More than 10 percent of BSN graduates carried upwards of $80,000 in loans. Source: National Student Nurses' Association annual survey, "Nursing Student Loan Debt: A Secondary Analysis of the National Student Nurses' Association Annual Survey of New Graduates" in Nursing Economics, Sept-Oct 2014 Vol. 32, No. 5. Hard lessons about student debt

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