At a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire today, Mitt Romney was asked about his plan to tackle the nation’s exploding student debt crisis.
In response, Gov. Romney said, essentially, that it was not the government’s job to get involved.
“It is very tempting as a politician to say, ‘ You know what, I will just give you some money. The government is just going to give you some money and pay back your loans for you,'” he said. “I am not going to tell you something that is not the truth, because you know, that is just taking money from your other pocket and giving it to the other pocket.
“I am not going to promise all sorts of free stuff that I know you are going to end up paying for,” he continued.
Last year, President Barack Obama laid out his own plan to tackle student debt, including reduces the maximum required payment of student loans from 15 percent of discretionary income annually to 10 percent and forgiving any remaining debt after 20 years. Mr. Obama also made it easier and cheaper for borrowers to consolidate their loans.
Student loans are the number two source of household debt, and the cost of tuition continues to increase.
In New Hampshire, Mr. Romney said that the best the government could do was to “give you a great job so you will be able to pay it back yourself and to get government off your back so you can keep more of what you earn.
