What the 2016 presidential candidates have to say about student loans

The issue of student loan debt has leapt into the spotlight this election season, and people are more intent than ever to hear what the presidential hopefuls have to say about this particular issue.

As of now, the total amount of student loan debt for Americans has risen to a combined amount of $1.3 trillion, and many citizens are now calling for the system to be overhauled, according to Forbes.

Student loans were previously not one of the hot topics during election season, but that has clearly changed for many Americans.

With this much attention now focused on the issue of student loans, potential voters now want to know exactly what the people angling for their precious votes have in mind in terms of reform.

Starting with the Democratic Party and going in alphabetical order, first up will be what Hillary Clinton has to say about the issue. According to Clinton, the government needs to lend a helping hand in terms of trying to ease the burden of student loan debt, and that includes potentially lowering student loan interest rates and ensuring community college can be free for everyone.

Next up from the Democratic Party is Bernie Sanders. The plan Senator Sanders has in mind to get rid of the problem of student loan debt is to provide tuition-free college. Senator Sanders has also proposed a so-called "Robin Hood Tax" that would be designed to extract money from Wall Street, and effectively using those dollars to fund his tuition-free college plan.

Moving on to the Republican Party's presidential candidates, Jeb Bush's plan to minimize student loan debt is to equip students with the ability that will allow them to move past school faster, provide colleges and universities with reasons to decrease to make their services more affordable and to give students access to different kinds of higher education programs, according to Market Watch.

Controversial presidential candidate Donald Trump also has his own take on what can help Americans get rid of their sizable student loan debts, and according to the real estate mogul, it involves preventing the government from making money of such instances. Trump has indicated that the government has been able to make money off student loans, and if that is able to stop, then the debt could be lowered.

As the election next year continues to draw closer, more voters will be listening in on what plans the candidates have with regards to student loans, and that could be one of the deciding factors in terms of who ultimately ends up in the White House.