Even making college free wouldn't reduce America's wealth gap

It's all about intergenerational wealth transfers

College graduates
(Image credit: (Thinkstock))

The Pew Research Center recently released a report comparing the wealth of young households with and without student debt. Unsurprisingly, young student debtor households have less wealth than similar households without student debt.

Such facts are often mobilized by those who argue that policies that reduce student debt would close the wealth gap. This is not the case.

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Matt Bruenig writes about poverty, inequality, and economic justice at Demos, Salon, The Atlantic, The American Prospect, and The Week. He is a Texas native and graduate of the University of Oklahoma.