MIDDLE WAY

Buttigieg Pledges Free College for Families Who Earn Less Than $100,000

The policy also calls for reduced tuition at public universities for families earning between $100,000 and $150,000.

Pete Buttigieg would make tuition at four-year public colleges free for families earning up to $100,000 if he wins the presidential election. The South Bend mayor will unveil the plan Friday, according to The Washington Post, in what is being seen as a pitch to voters who want a middle lane to the left of Joe Biden and to the right of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Sens. Warren and Sanders have proposed making college free for everyone, while Biden proposed free community college for all Americans. “Pete is proposing plans targeted to making programs affordable for the middle class and below, not giving it free to everyone,” said Austan Goolsbee, an economic adviser to Buttigieg. The policy calls for reduced tuition at public universities for families earning $100,000 to $150,000 and no tuition at all for anyone below that earning threshold. Buttigieg will also propose expanding Pell Grants to help low-income students pay for their housing and fees, and investing $50 billion in historically black colleges.