Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson visited the L.P. Young Student Center on Monday, Oct. 2 to speak with students and other members of the community. Williamson, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, outlined her policy positions for the audience. She also held a question-and-answer period.
Williamson said addressing student debt by providing tuition-free college educations would be a priority for her administration.
“Public policy should help people thrive. Governments are instituted, through the Declaration of Independence, to secure life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In today’s language, that means self-actualization,” Williamson said. “Education is one of the ways we self-actualize, and become all that we can be. We should set our young people up to win.”
Williamson explained her plan to fund tuition-free college to the audience.
“First, you’d get a degree. The government records what you’re making. When you get to the point where you can pay back the cost without suffering financial hardship, the government starts paying itself back. If you’re never able to pay it back, you’re never able to pay it back. Some people, however, are able to pay it back in a very short amount of time,” she said to the audience.
Williamson said she supports lowering prescription drug prices, and expressed a willingness to use the federal government’s “march-in rights,” which grants the federal government authority to relicense patents for products that have received government funding during their development.
“If even one dollar of taxpayer money is used in the development of pharmaceutical drugs, the government has the right. That power isn’t used because they’re afraid they’ll offend the pharmaceutical companies, who will fund their opponents,” Williamson said.
“I’m not afraid they’re going to take my chairmanship away. I’m not afraid they’re going to primary me. I’m not worried about being re-elected,” Williamson said.
Williamson said she believes that ending the war on drugs will damage cartels and other criminal organizations.
“It is time for us to end the war on drugs. We have spent a trillion dollars on it since 1971, and it has exacerbated the problem instead of fixing it.The drug cartels are what’s driving the majority of immigration across the southern border. The cartel is a black market. Get rid of the market, you get rid of the cartel,” said Williamson.
Aja Davis, who attended the event, said, “I appreciate everything she said. I really try to look for candidates who are trying to do things differently. What’s happening now is clearly not working, and I appreciate someone who’s working on doing things with us, as opposed to people who are just working for the corporations.”
Ryan Pacheco can be contacted at
Ryan.Pacheco@keene.edu
