Marianne Williamson supports Yang’s UBI but says ‘it’s not the second coming of Christ’ for student loan crisis

A free $1,000 a month has long been the center point of Democratic businessman Andrew Yang’s campaign to become president.

As he’s highlighted on the campaign trail and debate stage, Americans could do a lot with $1,000 every month. You could invest in a side business, save up for a home, or if you’re like millions of Americans with student loans, you could use it to pay down student debt.

But when it comes to Yang’s cornerstone $1,000 a month “freedom dividend” as part of an answer to the problem of nearly $1.7 trillion dollars in outstanding student loan debt that Americans are increasingly struggling to pay back, former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson told Yahoo Finance that it alone might not be enough.

Williamson, who suspended her campaign for the Democratic nomination in January, noted on Yahoo Finance’s YFi PM that while she previously and still currently supports the idea of a universal basic income, she believes student loan forgiveness would be a more worthwhile economic stimulus to pursue.

“Even though I did in my campaign and I still do support UBI, it’s not the second coming of Christ,” she said, referring to universal base income. “It’s not going to fix everything, and I’m not in support of ‘UBI instead of everything else.’ Many of these issues still need to be dealt with.”

Democratic presidential hopefuls (L-R) US author and writer Marianne Williamson, Former Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper and US entrepreneur Andrew Yang participate in the second Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season hosted by NBC News at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, June 27, 2019. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)        (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

To be fair, Yang’s campaign has proposed additional fixes specifically for the growing problem of student loans, including making it easier to discharge educational debt in bankruptcy. The campaign has also said it would explore a blanket partial reduction in the principal of school loans, particularly for recent graduates with the largest debt levels.

Williamson, who supported Yang at an event on the campaign trail in Iowa, said backing a blanket elimination of student loans would do more to stimulate the economy than even the Trump tax cuts.

“You want to stimulate the economy? I’ll tell you what you do, get rid of this college loan debt,” she said.

When reached for comment, Yang’s national press secretary S.Y. Lee thanked Williamson for her support of universal basic income and “her support of the Freedom Dividend, and her voice for peace in a world where strife is abounds,” he wrote. “We look forward to her continued advocacy.”

Zack Guzman is the host of YFi PM as well as a senior writer and on-air reporter covering entrepreneurship, cannabis, startups, and breaking news at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @zGuz.

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