Hillary Clinton reveals her liberal economic plan

Home Top

Billion-dollar drug lord on the run: Manhunt for 'El Chapo' who's escaped from Mexican prison for the second time after going for a shower... and entering his secret MILE-LONG tunnel to freedom
'It's like finding out Santa beats his reindeer': Backlash over To Kill a Mockingbird 'sequel' which turns literary saint into a RACIST
Putin plays his card as he offers energy deal to Greece while Germany is warned it would be 'fatal' to throw them out of Eurozone
Why do you always get ill on vacation? Experts reveal ten reasons for feeling below par on your travels and how you can stop poor health from sabotaging this year's break
Enraged author issues withering riposte to Twitter troll for body-shaming Wimbledon champion Serena Williams
Roger Federer's formula for final? Renting TWO houses to avoid being disturbed by his young family
Why don't Wimbledon TWIGS at least do some knitting? writes LIZ JONES
Game on! Stars descend on Wimbledon as Roger Federer faces Novak Djokovic in bid to become first man to win the tournament eight times and the oldest champion at 33
Phew! £2,000 for filthy band Andy Murray threw to Camilla who was sitting in the Royal Box on Centre Court
Nick returns Pat's serve: Tennis bad boy Kyrgios tweets - and then deletes - his anger after Rafter said we need 'stars Australia can be proud of'
'Thanks to Donald Trump the Republican mascot is also an ass': Letterman abandons retirement to deliver withering Top Ten list mocking controversial candidate at Steve Martin's comedy show
New Reddit CEO tries to win over users in midst of scandal that saw popular employee fired and ex-boss Ellen Pao forced out during 'revolt' staged by unpaid moderators
Chris Christie goes to billionaire summer camp: New Jersey governor hugs his wealthy friends at Sun Valley summit for the world's top tycoons
Trump takes incendiary immigration views to the GOP faithful: Tycoon says he'd fine 'cunning' Mexico $100,000 for every illegal immigrant who crosses border in order to 'take back our country'
Rescue pilot Wills takes to the air again: Prince starts news job with air ambulance team (and he'll have to take a packed lunch because there's no canteen)
Harry the tusk warrior: War veteran Prince is back in the front line - fighting ivory poachers with helicopter team over Namibian national park
Two flight attendants and a passenger taken to hospital after Washington-bound United Airlines flight rocked by severe turbulence
Cities across the country report a 'scary' rise in violent crime: Shootings rise by up to 18 per cent after months of anti-cop anger
A quickie Vegas ceremony in a blue mini dress vs. a three-day London fete in regal Valentino: How Nicky Hilton's 2004 wedding differed in every way from her 2015 palace vows (except sister Paris who made it to both)
When's it your turn, Paris? Awkward moment Hilton heiress has her arm gripped by wedding guest the day after watching younger sister Nicky walk down the aisle
Behind-the-scenes of a billionaire wedding: Paris Hilton shares candid shots of preparation for sister Nicky's big day
'Honey, we all make mistakes:' How wife forgave her 79-year-old husband after he took a wrong turn in the desert and put them in TWO WEEK survival ordeal that killed him
Fired Barclays chief executive 'to walk away with $50million in cash and shares' despite not turning round the troubled bank
Would you live in a $350,000 SHIPPING CONTAINER... in Detroit? Revolutionary apartment complex that was built in hours

Clinton will formally unveil her economic agenda on Monday after three months of 'listening' to the concerns of 'everyday Americans'
It's unclear how she'll pay for the programs, estimated to cost billions
Aides say she will propose a tax hike on on wealthy Americans and other unspecified cutbacks and loopholes closures
Left-wing groups have hounded Clinton, and the rest of the Democratic field, to 'think big' and embrace 'bold' progressive ideas
Progressive group Democracy For America admits that a liberal agenda will be costly: 'Washington has a lot of resources available to them, and it's all an issue of priorities,' though, it said

By Francesca Chambers, White House Correspondent For Dailymail.com

Published: 13:37 EST, 10 July 2015 | Updated: 16:00 EST, 10 July 2015

400

View
comments

Hillary Clinton will formally unveil her economic agenda on Monday after three months of 'listening' to the concerns of 'everyday Americans' across the country, and in early voting states in particular.

Among the proposals she's expected to put her weight behind, according to the New York Times, are universal prekindergarten, subsidized child care for working families, paid sick and family leave for new parents, higher education reform and an increase in the federal minimum wage.

She'll also urge businesses to adopt profit-sharing programs for their employees, make a legislative push for more money for medical research and outline her plans to protect more of the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants from deportation.

It's unclear how she'll pay for the programs, estimated to cost billions.

Aides to Clinton said she would propose a tax hike on wealthy Americans and other unspecified cutbacks and loophole closures. They did not go into further detail other than to say, as the Times put it, that they would be substantial.

Clinton said in an interview this week - the first nationally broadcast sit-down of her campaign - that she had not put her agenda in ink, yet, because she wanted to spend the first 90 days of her candidacy listening to the Americans in small, group settings.

That, she said, is also why she had not been giving interviews and had not held a massive rally since formally announcing her candidacy, with the exception of her kick-off event.

The Democratic candidate insisted in the interview that her sole concern was her own campaign and refused to compare herself to her top primary opponent, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, telling CNN's Briana Keilar, 'everybody has to run his or her own campaign.'

'And I'm going to be telling the American people what I propose, and how I think it will work, then we'll let the voters make up their minds,' she said.

Clinton said that after she released her economic priorities next week she'd be willing and ready to debate on them.

Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, has already offered up a 12-point economic plan that, much like Clinton's soon-to-be released agenda, is sure to leave fiscal conservatives and the business wing of the Republican Party fuming.

A fundamental pillar of his platform is the dissolution of big banks. 'If it's too big to fail, it's too big to exist. That's the bottom line,' reads a petition on his campaign site.

'I am prepared to break up the large financial institutions because I think Wall Street has too much power — she has not been clear on that,' Sanders said during an appearance on CNN's New Day this morning.

But the independent senator said that he's likewise he's not 'going to be beating [Clinton up and attacking her in personal ways.'

'I like her. We have differences of opinions on issues and that’s where my focus will be,' he said.

Hillary Clinton says what's happened in Greece is a 'tragedy'

Clinton is expected on Monday to unveil a wide-reaching agenda that is rooted in the progressive principles that Democrats supporting Sanders have urged Clinton to make the foundation of her campaign as she runs for president in 2016.

Groups like Democracy for America and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee have hounded Clinton, and the rest of the Democratic field, to 'think big' and embrace 'bold' progressive ideas.

After Clinton's first major speech as a candidate, her June 13 address from Roosevelt Island in New York City, PCCC co-founder Adam Green expressed disappointment in her remarks.

'This was mostly a typical Democratic speech -- much better than the direction Republicans offer America, but not the bold economic vision that most Americans want and need,' he lamented.

'That said, if Hillary Clinton represents the center of the Democratic Party right now, this speech shows that the center of gravity in the Democratic Party is changing -- moving away from corporate Democrat priorities and toward populist ideas.'

Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont and Democratic candidate for president in 2004, told the New York Times several weeks later criticism of Clinton 'was always talking about these issues, but not with the same rhetoric.'

'And that’s because her base has moved left and the country has moved the left. I think she can be more of who she is,' he said.

Gene Sperling, the director of the National Economic Council under Bill Clinton who returned to fill the same role in Barack Obama's administration and has since left government service, told the Times in an interview for its piece previewing Hillary Clinton's speech today that her expected shift in rhetoric is a reflection of the current political environment.

'I think the issues of economic inequality and middle class economic insecurity have become more serious and longstanding, and as a result are demanding bigger responses,' he said.

Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, has already offered up a 12-point economic plan that, much like Clinton's soon-to-be released agenda, is sure to leave fiscal conservatives and the business wing of the Republican Party fuming

Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America, told DailyMail.com that Clinton's speech will likely 'be a further step forward for understanding what the moment is now.'

'Economic populism,' he said, is the key to connecting with Americans of all income levels and political ideologies across the entire country.

It would appear that candidates on both sides of the political spectrum have come the understand that, he said.

'They understand that Wall Street has rigged the system. They understand that big corporations are getting away with whatever they want.

'And what's great is it looks like Hillary understands that, too, and is working to build a platform and a program that she's pushing for that puts the reigns of the economy back in the hands of the American people, the middle class,' he said.

Chamberlain readily admitted that progressives' legislative agenda is likely to be costly.

'Washington has a lot of resources available to them, and it's all an issue of priorities,' though, he said.

For starters, Chamberlain said Congress could do away with corporate and tax giveaways and stop offering bailouts and trade deals that 'help top 1% but they still cost us a ton of money but they just cost us a ton of money.'

The types of reforms that Clinton is expected to push 'are all an investment that actually get put right back into the economy,'he said.

'So it's a win-win to send the money on a program like childcare,' whereas when you spend the money on a bailout, that's a 'reactionary' policy that doesn't help middle class Americans, he said.

'Sure, these program cost money,' Chamberlain said, but the reality is that the U.S. could attain that revenue by raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

'The bottom line is this is about priorities. What America do we want to live in? Do we want an America that supports the middle class? Or do we want an America that just supports the richest one percent all the time?'

Sanders was once seen a non-serious candidate - but his ability to pack auditoriums, like this one in Portland, Maine, on Monday, has Clinton taking notice. Her wide-reaching agenda will likely be rooted in the progressive principles that Democrats supporting Sanders have urged her to make the foundation of her campaign

Included in Sanders' economic plan, according to CNN, is a 'progressive tax system' that's based on one's 'ability to pay.'

And speaking of ability to pay, Sanders says he wants to double the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Income 'inequality is worse now than at any other time in American history since the 1920s,' he states on his website. 'Today, the top one-tenth of 1 percent of our nation owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent combined.'

In his capacity as a United States senator, has introduced a bill called The College for All Act that is designed to make college more affordable by lowering the interest rates on student loans and creating an option for graduates to refinance already existing federal loans at lower rates.

He plans to fund the measures with a 0.5% tax on stock trade and a 0.1% tax on bonds. He'd also introduce a nominal fee on derivatives. All told, the tax plan, he says, will generate $300 billion in new revenue.

Clinton is also expected to endorse a debt-free college push on Monday, as well.

Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination, this week released a higher education plan that he claims will make college 'debt-free,' as well. On his website, he does not say how he'll pay for his plan, either.

'To her credit, Hillary Clinton has mentioned debt-free college multiple times on the campaign trail, and Americans await a bold policy speech on debt-free college in the near future,' PCCC co-founder Adam Green said in a statement earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Jeb Bush, the ex-governor of Florida who is the front-runner for the GOP nomination, said this week that he believes that 'people need to work longer hours' in order for the U.S. to turn its economy around. He's been hit hard for it and tried to clarify his remarks on Wednesday in New Hampshire, but it didn't help much

Clinton hit back at him with the above tweet. Among the proposals she's expected to put her weight behind on Monday to help middle class Americans is subsidized child care and a higher minimum wage

Bush said he wants to see economic growth of four percent a year, which 'means we have to be a lot more productive, workforce participation has to rise from its all-time modern lows,' he said.

'People need to work longer hours and, through their productivity, gain more income for their families. That's the only way we're going to get out of this rut that we're in.'

After taking heavy criticism for his remarks, made to the Union Leader newspaper in New Hampshire during an interview with its editorial board, Bush claimed at an event that his words were being taken 'out of context.'

'You can take it out of context all you want, but high sustained growth means people work 40 hours rather than 30 hours and that by our success they have disposable income for their families to decide how they want to spend it rather than standing in line and being dependent upon government,' he said.

Democrats are calling it his 'Mitt Romney 47 percent moment' and are holding it up as evidence that, Bush, who is wealthy, is 'out-of-touch' with financial situations of average Americans.

'I mean how much longer does he want people to work? Does he want them to work 47 percent harder? Does he think that people are just lazy, sitting on their backs not doing anything?' DFA's Chamberlain told DailyMail.com.

Chamberlain said he knows 'working mothers out there, working two jobs, barely seeing their own children, because they're desperately trying to raise enough money to keep the lights on and put food on the table.'

'We need an America' that invests in the middle class 'rather than just putting all the money at top' and giving it to the wealthiest people, like Jeb Bush, he charged.