Iowa Father Bashes Elizabeth Warren's Student Loan Plan

GRIMES, IA — A father in Iowa didn't mince words when asking Sen. Elizabeth Warren about her higher education plan. While campaigning in the Hawkeye State, the Democratic presidential candidate was confronted by a man who paid for his daughter to go to college and said the plan is unfair to people who "did the right thing."

Warren's plan calls for eliminating up to $50,000 in student loan debt for households with an income under $100,000 and making tuition free at public colleges and universities. It would also cancel $1 of debt for every $3 in income above $100,000.

The man told Warren he has a daughter who is about to graduate from college.

"I've saved all my money, she doesn't have any student loans," he said. "Am I going to get my money back?"

"Of course not," Warren replied.

"So you're going to pay for people who didn't save any money, and those of us who did the right thing get screwed?" he asked.

The man said he worked double shifts to save for his daughter's education, while his friend "had fun, bought a car, went on vacations." He stormed off after telling Warren she's "laughing" at people like him.

Warren defended her position Friday on "CBS This Morning." She was asked how she would respond to Americans who also feel like they "did the right thing."

"Look, we build a future going forward by making it better," Warren said. "By that same logic, what would we have done? Not started Social Security because we didn’t start it last week for you or last month for you?"

Warren discussed how she was able to attend the University of Houston for $50 a semester in the 1960s. Today, that's an option that's "not available, and our kids have taken a trillion-and-a-half dollars in student loan debt," Warren said.