Americans certainly aren’t happy with the student loan status quo.

It’s hard to blame them, seeing as the average college graduate now leaves campus $30,000 in debt . But this discontent does mean that if Republicans fail to respond and offer up meaningful solutions, voters will inevitably drift further toward the outstretched arms of “free college” supporters and student loan bailout proponents such as socialists Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Of course, Republicans and sensible liberals alike are right to point out the ample flaws in “free college” proposals, regressive policies that would amount to a government handout to the upper class. So, too, it’s worth noting and arguing that the student loan “crisis” is overblown, to say the least, even though it is a serious problem. But critics must do more than just this, and we must offer our own solutions to mounting college costs. Thankfully, Sen. Rand Paul is leading the way.

The Kentucky Republican announced a new proposal Tuesday that would reform the way students, graduates, and their families save money and pay for higher education. But unlike what socialists such as Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have offered up, Paul’s plan would help students pay for their own education rather than shove the bill onto already-burdened taxpayers.

Excited to announce my plan to help alleviate student loan debt! The HELPER Act would allow individuals to use money from their 401(k) or IRA to pay for college or to pay back student loan debt. Watch the video to learn more! pic.twitter.com/2C6fNEnZOU — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 3, 2019

His bill, the Higher Education Loan Repayment and Enhanced Retirement Act , or HELPER Act for short, would allow students, families, and employers to set aside money through tax-exempt 401(k) plans and then use the funds to both pay for college and pay off student loans.

As things stand now, workers must pay off their loans with their earnings after the government has chipped away at their paychecks through what feels like endless taxes on payroll, income, and more. Yet the HELPER Act would allow workers to withdraw up to $5,250 per year from their pre-tax 401(k) plan to pay for their loans or higher education expenses.

According to Paul’s office, this means that “if two parents and their college-bound child each put aside the maximum amount of $5,250 per year, that would make a total of $15,750 pre-tax dollars per year available to pay for college.”

This might all sound like abstract math, but in practice it could make it much easier for working-class and middle-class families to afford to send their aspiring students to college. Let me explain.

To pay for $15,000 in college-related expenses would previously have required some families to earn $20,000, $25,000, or more so they’d have that $15,000 left after taxes. Under this bill, they wouldn’t have to pay taxes on that money. They'd only have to earn $15,000 to pay $15,000. So, they would be able to pay for more college or pay off more loans without actually having to earn more money — essentially, their ability to afford college would immediately increase.

Still, notice the key difference between Paul’s plan and those proposed by his socialist colleagues in Congress: self-sufficiency versus government dependency.

Sanders and his pal Ocasio-Cortez would have taxpayers swoop in to pay for everyone’s education, even the degrees of those from millionaire families who could pay their own way. Conversely, Paul’s plan gets the government — most importantly, the IRS — out of the way to help struggling Americans lift themselves up.

Of course, no legislation is perfect. Not everyone has access to a 401(k), and this plan would decrease government tax revenue in a time when we’re $23 trillion in debt. But to negate these problems, Paul’s bill includes provisions that would encourage more employers to offer 401(k)s to their employees. So, too, the senator has pointed out ample areas to offset revenue losses with spending cuts. Thanks to Paul’s “Waste Reports,” we know to start cutting with the $22 million the government spent on improving the quality of Serbian cheese and other egregious examples of waste.

All in all, this plan is something conservative legislators should support. If Republicans keep overlooking small-government solutions to this problem such as those proposed by Paul, socialist alternatives will eventually win the day.