New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared to jump on the progressive bandwagon when he announced a free-college plan yesterday. But buried in the fine print of the $163 million plan are significant benefits to upper-middle-income families — those making up to $125,000 per year — while the plan does nothing for low-income students, for whom existing grant aid already covers tuition.
Free-college plans surged in popularity in 2016 as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made such a plan a central element of his presidential campaign, and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton eventually followed suit. The Sanders and Clinton plans would have provided benefits to students from families with a wide range of incomes. But supporters of these plans could argue that including more affluent families was necessary to obtain broad-based political support.