With the election a month away, presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have just a few weeks left to woo voters across the U.S.
If you’re still on the fence about which candidate to vote for, your final decision may hinge on how their policy ideas could potentially impact your wallet.
We have simplified and broken down each candidate’s stance on three key issues — college costs, child care and family leave, and health care — to help you understand exactly how each candidate’s proposals could affect your wallet.
College Costs
Clinton: Hillary Clinton’s college debt plan promises a “debt-free future” for college graduates. Clinton intends to use her New College Compact to erase college tuition at in-state colleges and universities for families earning up to $125,000 annually. The plan caps income at $80,000 to start off, then will rise by $10,000 for the next four years to hit $125,000 in 2021.
The New College Compact also promises to help students pay for the cost of college by protecting the Pell Grant’s funding and restoring year-round Pell funding so that students can receive the grant over the summer in addition to fall and spring. In addition, the plan will invest in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other minority-serving institutions and grant a 15-fold increase in federal funding for on-campus child care among other factors. The Compact requires colleges to be accountable and pursue cost-reduction efforts, requires students to work at least 10 hours a week, and will reward those who create programs that provide credible education at a low cost.
Clinton has also pledged to provide debt-relief help to struggling graduates. Her plan outlines efforts to make sure all graduates can refinance loans, enroll in income-based repayment (no more than 10% of monthly income), get help from employers, defer repayment from debt incurred from starting a business for up to three years, and be rewarded for public service. Finally, she proposes a three-month moratorium on student debt collection to give debtors the chance to get on board with the resources she plans to provide.
Trump: Donald Trump’s plan to address college costs begins with a proposal to get rid of student loans issued directly by the U.S. government, a system that has been in place since 2010. Trump would take the U.S. government out of the student loan business, leaving student lending up to private lenders.
He says he will work with Congress to enact reforms that will give tax breaks to colleges and universities that make a “good faith effort” to cut back costs and student debt. By doing this, Trump says he will make attending, paying for, and completing one’s education at a two- or four-year college or vocational or technical school more accessible.
Child Care and Family Leave
Clinton: Child care costs rose more than 122% over the past 10 years for American families. Hillary Clinton’s plan to address the rising costs includes giving a raise to child care providers to incentivise high-quality and effective child care. She plans on using the Respect and Increased Salaries for Early Childhood Educators (RAISE) initiative with state and local governments to fund the salary increases. Clinton also plans to double federal funding for the Early Head Start and the Early Head Start–Child Care Partnership program to allow room for twice as many children in the program.
When it comes to family leave, Clinton says she will guarantee up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave to workers who need to care for a new child or sick family member. Individuals who fall seriously ill or are injured will also get up to 12 weeks of paid medical leave. The pay will be at least two-thirds of an individual’s current wages, but it won’t cost businesses anything extra. It will be funded by money generated through tax increases on the wealthy and tax reform.
Clinton also proposes capping families’ child care expenses at 10% of household income.
Trump: Donald Trump would change the tax code to allow working parents to deduct child care expenses for up to four children and elderly dependents from their income taxes. The deduction would be capped at “average cost of care for the state of residence,” according to his plan. According to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center, higher-earning families would have the most to gain from Trump’s child care plan, as the poorest households rarely pay federal income taxes.
Trump also proposes creating special child care savings accounts where families can make tax-free contributions toward child care. Currently, families may contribute to similar accounts but only if those accounts are offered by an employer. His proposal calls for a federal match of up to $500 to families who use the special accounts.
On the issue of family leave, Trump proposes six weeks of paid maternity leave.
He hasn’t specifically said how his plan would be paid for, but in a campaign fact sheet he says most of his tax reforms would be paid for by “increases in economic activity that accompany pro-growth tax reform, better trade deals, regulatory and immigration reform, and unleashing American energy.”
Health Care
Clinton: Hillary Clinton largely plans to focus on continuing and expanding the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). She says that she will work with state governors to expand Medicaid to the 3 million people who are uninsured because states chose not to expand the program. Clinton says she will allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to block or adjust health insurance premium rate increases to make coverage more affordable. She also says she will cap prescription drug costs and limit out-of-pocket expenses for families.
Clinton says she will also make efforts to give Americans the choice of a public-option insurance plan, or a government-run health plan, in each state and to allow those 55 years or older to opt into Medicare. The qualifying age is currently 65.
Trump: The first part of Donald Trump’s health care plan is to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) to help cover out-of-pocket expenses. HSAs are usually coupled with high-deductible health plans to allow workers to set aside pre-tax dollars for medical expenses. Unlike many existing HSA accounts, the ones that Trump is proposing will have no limit and will become part of an individual’s estate and will enable people to pass the sum onto an heir after death, tax-free.
Trump says he will also allow individuals to deduct their health insurance premium payment from their tax returns. Finally, his plan outlines an effort to work with states to identify individuals who have not had continuous health coverage and create high-risk pools to give them access to health care coverage.
Make sure to register to vote by Oct. 14.
MagnifyMoney is a price comparison and financial education website, founded by former bankers who use their knowledge of how the system works to help you save money.
