DEBT FREE COLLEGE AND SKILLED TRADES
Education shouldn’t be a debt sentence. Whether someone chooses university, trade school, or an apprenticeship, opportunity should not come with lifelong financial chains. A country that wants builders, nurses, electricians, teachers, coders, and innovators should make learning a gateway — not a financial trap.
THE PROBLEM
Student debt in America exceeds $1.7 trillion — more than credit card and auto debt combined.
Trade programs and apprenticeships are critically understaffed while industries scream for skilled workers.
Young people are told to “learn a trade” — but training costs thousands, with no support.
Millions are turning down education or training not because they don’t want to work, but because they can’t afford to learn.
We don’t lack talent in America. We block access to it.
OUR PLAN - EDUCATION WITHOUT THE CHAINS
We will fund pathways that lead directly to work and national prosperity:
Tuition-Free Public College & Community College — Fed-state cost-share guarantee for in-state students who maintain progress.
Fully Funded Trade & Vocational Programs — Welding, electrical, HVAC, green energy tech, nursing assistant programs — covered just like academic tracks.
Paid Apprenticeship Expansion — Structured earn-while-you-learn programs with wage floors tied to federal support.
National Service Credit Option — Students can reduce remaining tuition or housing costs through local service, civic tech work, or infrastructure projects.
Textbook & Tools Support — Grants for required equipment, tools, laptops, and certification fees — so low-income students aren’t locked out by hidden costs.
Automatic Loan Relief for Predatory Programs — Schools that overcharge and under-deliver lose accreditation and their students’ debt is wiped.
WHY IT MATTERS
A country that claims to value hard work must also value the education that makes work possible. Debt-free learning builds a middle class, fills skill gaps, restores dignity to labor, and proves that America invests in its people — not just in banks and lenders.
“We don’t ask soldiers to pay the military back — why do we charge young people for joining the workforce?”