Live Coverage Of The First Democratic Debate

Bernie Sanders says that a college degree has become what a high-school diploma was in the middle of the 20th century. He isn’t far off. In the 1970s, about a third of American adults (ages 25-64) had less than a high school diploma; another third had a diploma and no more; and the remainder had at least a few college credits. Only about 6 percent had a bachelor’s degree or more. (All data is from the Current Population Survey, via IPUMS.) Today, just 10 percent of Americans have less than a diploma, and a third have a bachelor’s degree. Well over half of American adults have at least a few college credits. And although some question the value of a college degree, it still carries clear advantages in the labor force. Americans 25 and up with a bachelor’s degree have an unemployment rate of 2.5 percent, versus 7.9 percent for those with less than a high school diploma.

Hillary Clinton is right that Social Security is particularly important to women. That’s a matter of life expectancy: Women, on average, outlive men. According to the Social Security Administration, women make up 56 percent of all beneficiaries ages 62 and up, and two-thirds of beneficiaries ages 85 and up. Unmarried women 65 and older are also less likely than unmarried men 65 and older to get income from pensions other than Social Security.

College affordability is a big issue regardless of political affiliation: An April Gallup poll found that while 61 percent of U.S. adults believe that education beyond high school is available to anyone who needs it, only 21 percent believe it’s affordable.