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October 8, 2007 Senator Clinton Speech Analysis
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* Senator Clinton previously stated, “And no one should be surprised, human nature being what it
is, people will go as far as they possibly can get away with.” A word to the wise should be sufficient *
REBUILDING THE MIDDLE CLASS: Hillary
Clinton's Economic Blueprint for the 21st Century
I want to
introduce one other person. I don't know quite where she is right now but Mary
Jo Auliff, where is Mary Jo? Is Mary Jo here? Well Mary Jo Auliff I know was
going to try to be here this morning and she is someone whom I met in
Russell is
a fourth generation
Mary Jo,
Russell and their family are doing everything right. They're working hard,
they're serving our country, they're taking responsibility for themselves and
taking care of each other. There are millions of families like them struggling
and coming up short in an economy that just doesn't work for middle class
Americans any longer.
Today
I would like to outline several of the challenges that this economy and our
people face: globalization, rising income inequality, the growing housing
crisis, all at a time of unprecedented fiscal irresponsibility in
This
administration has failed to respond to these challenges and in fact, many of
their policies have made things worse. I will chart a new course as President.
We have to
change our economic course just as we have to change course in
for middle
class Americans, and for all Americans because in this new global economy, what
have we seen? We've seen some jobs shipped overseas, and others replaced with
machines. In this decade the jobs that had been created pay 21% less than the
jobs we've lost. It's an economy that doesn't even create many new jobs.
Job
growth, since 2001, under President Bush, has been the weakest of any economic
recovery since the great depression. *
The Senator is comparing the recovery to the temporary spike years that
occurred in the late 1990s and 2000. * It's an economy that demands more from our
workers and gives less in return. Over the past six years, worker
productivity - that means how hard you're working, how much you put out per
hour of your work. Productivity has risen 18%,
American workers are the hardest working people in the world * As
detailed in REPORTCARD2000.COM, productivity is a function of Output and Labor
hours. A highly capitalized economy will
have higher productivity than a low capitalized economy. To say there is an automatic correlation
between hard work and productivity demonstrates a lack of understanding of an
economy. One example comes to mind. It used to be a person delivering newspapers
would peddle a bicycle and throw papers.
Today, people drive a car and throw more newspapers in the same amount
of time. Is the person driving the car
working harder than the bicycle peddler, especially when delivering uphill? *
And yet just look around, wages have stayed flat. Corporate profits are at a
forty year high * The temporary
economic phenomena in the 1990s had flat
corporate profits. The economy
proved to be unsustainable. Are
corporate profits necessary to sustain an economy? The conclusion from the temporary economy in
2000 that lacked increasing corporate profits is, “yes”. * but
the average family's income in
According
to a recent report, over the 12-month period that ended in July of last year,
the slow growth in wages for labor accounted for 64% of the increase in
corporate profits. So in other words, companies are actually profiting off of their
worker's stagnant wages. * Based on the
implied conclusion of the senator, it is better to have high temporary wages
with flat corporate profits as were incurred in the 1990s and 2000 than
sustainable wages. *
That is
not the way it used to be. It used to be that when corporate profits went up,
workers wages went up. * Not in the
late 1990s, corporate profits were flat and wages went up. Wages went up while
corporate profits were flat in the late 1990s and 2000. * But the
current group of corporate leadership is not sharing the benefits of that
increasing profitability with the workers who make the profits possible.
It's an
economy where the gap between the few at the top and everybody else just keeps
getting wider. In 2005, all income gains went to the top 10% of households. * A review of the wage gains in the 1990s
indicates the top 1% also did the
best. * While, the bottom 90% saw their incomes decline. And the
wealthiest 1% held 22% of
And six
and a half years of fiscal irresponsibility hasn't helped manners. Between the
President's reckless tax breaks to those at the top and a war that is costing
$300,000,000 a day, we have run up record debts and we are now at $9 trillion
and counting. * Did the tax breaks lead
to a decline in AGIs? The senator should
address all the factors associated with the economy of the 1990s as disclosed
in REPORTCARD2000.COM including the effects of a hyped stock market and
extraordinary capital spending. *
Now up
until recently, at least housing prices were rising, 86% between 1998 and 2006.
So while hard working families were getting squeezed from every direction, and
their credit cards were often maxed out, they'd use their homes as a safety
net. When the bills got too high, they could dip in to their home equity to pay
them. Then housing prices started to fall, and suddenly the safety net shrunk.
At the same time, families who financed their homes with non-traditional high risk
loans saw their mortgage rates jump. Now many families finally stuck with
mortgages they can't pay and expenses they can't afford. * Does
Senator Clinton really think these people are irresponsible?! * The result is 1.3 million foreclosures so far
this year. Filings in August alone were up 261% in
Alex
Pollick, the former CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of
So taken
together, the pressures of stagnant wages; rising health, education, and energy
costs; increased household debt; and a softening housing market are creating a
trap door economy. Too many families are standing on that trap door, just one
diagnosis, one pink slip, one missed mortgage payment away from falling through
and losing everything they've worked for. They're bearing all of the risks of
the global economy but reaping few of the rewards.
So I hear
all over as I travel throughout
Well for
six and a half years we've seen this Administration's answers:
Their
answer to jobs being outsourced? Continuing tax incentives to companies that
outsource jobs to tax havens.
Their
answer to rising inequality? Tax breaks for the wealthy that actually increase
inequality.
Their
answer to 47 million Americans without health care? Veto health care for five
million children from working families.
Their
answer to rising insecurity? Shift even more risk onto the individual by trying
to privatize Social Security.
Their
answer to stagnant wages and anemic job growth? A war on science that has
slowed the critical research we need to create the high-wage jobs of the
future.
Their
economic philosophy boils down to this: In the new global economy, according to
the Republicans,
Now middle
class families always end up drawing the short straw. Growth, according to this
Republican philosophy, has to be unequal and government can't help. Instead,
the Bush Administration gives no-bid contracts to political allies, allows no
competition for senior citizens' drug prices under Medicare, and assumes no
accountability for outsourcing national security responsibilities to
contractors like Blackwater. They won't spend money to help working families
get health insurance for their kids, but think nothing of giving health care
providers billions more to take Medicare patients off the rolls.
Well, my
economic philosophy is exactly the opposite. It's what I learned growing up in
a middle class family in the middle of
I believe
the middle class is the backbone of our economy, the key to real growth, and
the guarantor of the American Dream. And to paraphrase an old saying, as
The
administration has failed that test. My administration will not. We will get
back to making it clear that we will have policies that support the American
middle class and that will be our goal.
You know,
you can go back in American history and see it works.
Throughout
our history, whenever we've * who is
“we”. The public or private sector? *
made strategic investments in our people and our future, the American economy
has created unprecedented prosperity. It has spurred scientists to make new
discoveries, entrepreneurs to launch new industries. It's generated countless
rags to riches stories and produced more millionaires and billionaires than
anywhere else on earth. At the same time, it has sustained the world's largest,
strongest middle class and given poor people the chance to work their way into
the middle class, and left each generation more prosperous than the one before.
The
strength of our economy and the rise of the middle class were products of both
a free market and good public policy, including sound economic stewardship by
Presidents from both parties.
Think
about Teddy Roosevelt busting the trusts and rooting out corruption. Franklin
Roosevelt building the infrastructure that drove this century's economy.
President Truman ensuring that American GIs had the tools they needed to seize
the promise of a great and growing future. President Eisenhower supporting more
science and math education. President Kennedy set our sights on the moon and
President Johnson worked to end poverty and the insecurity that comes as we
grow older.
In the 1990s,
my husband continued this tradition, combining fiscal responsibility with smart
investments in our people. And we did have pay-as-you-go rules that helped to
rein in spending. * Spending was
reduced through cuts in Defense
Spending. Also, there was a spike in
tax revenues from the hyped stock market and unsustainable AGIs from the high
capitalization provided from foreign as well as private sources. Where were the smart investments in the
1990s? *
And look
at the results. More than 22 million new jobs and the longest economic
expansion in American history. Balanced budgets and record surpluses. * And it was all unsustainable because there
were no corporate profits to support the high AGI levels and stock prices. * Rising family incomes, record levels of home
and business ownership, and one hundred times as many people lifted out of
poverty than during the Reagan Administration.
* And it was all a temporary
phenomenon. *
The secret to
Then we
came to George W. Bush. Well, it's a sad story. President Bush, with a
Republican Congress that enabled him to fully implement the trickle down economics
they've been advocating for a generation, ignored a century's worth of
wisdom. * The senator, in the previous paragraph ignores the
realities of the economy of the 1990s, which was provided by the CBO in January
2001, less than 8 years ago, and now she criticizes George W. Bush for ignoring
a century’s worth of wisdom. *
In this
decade, no American was too wealthy to be denied big tax cuts. No
well-connected company too prosperous to lose its tax subsidies or protection
from competition for government money. Meanwhile
* The next four sentences are recycled by the senator from a speech
in May 2007. *
As college
got more expensive, they cut back on college aid. So if you're a young person
who can't afford tuition, you're invisible.
As health
care got more expensive, they tried to reduce coverage for children. So if
you're one of the 47 million Americans without health insurance, you're
invisible as well.
As jobs
got scarce and paid less, they tried to weaken unions and stopped enforcing our
trade laws. So if you're a worker who can't organize for fair wages and safe
working conditions, you're invisible too.
And as gas
prices exploded, they allowed us to become more dependent on foreign oil. So if
you pay through the roof every time you fill up your tank, you're invisible.
Well
you're not invisible to me. And when we take back the White House, you will no
longer be invisible to the President of the
Because I
do see you and I do hear you. I see families working as hard as they can. I see
young people eager for opportunity. I see workers fighting for their basic
rights. And I will fight for you every single day of my presidency. Because as
President, I want to bring a new beginning to the 21st century and build a new
road to middle class prosperity. * A take-off of President Clinton’s “Road to
the 21st Century” theme in 1996. *
That is in
my view the job of the next President, to restore broad economic prosperity,
fairness, and security. It won't be easy, but I know it can be done.
I saw that
for myself in the eight years in the White House as my husband carried out one
of the most dramatic economic turnarounds in
Today I
propose a new economic blueprint for the twenty-first century economy: A plan
to create the new, good jobs essential to broad-based prosperity, to restore
fairness to our economy * When did
fairness exist. What years? *,
and to renew that basic bargain that if you work hard you can get ahead and we
will put our fiscal house in order.
The first component of my plan is to create millions of new jobs through an all out commitment to a clean, efficient, independent energy future and to end this administration's assault on science so that innovation can once again be the engine of our economic growth.
For six
and a half years, this Administration first denied the reality of our
dependence on foreign oil and then denied the reality of climate change and
refused to make a serious effort to deal with either. It is heartbreaking to
know we are more dependent on foreign oil today than we were before 9/11. * Dependence on foreign oil has been
increasing for decades. * You
know, but this on the part of the President was just a small piece of a larger
war on science and innovation, from muzzling and overruling scientists, to
suppressing and manipulating scientific evidence, to denying funding for stem
cell research.
To paraphrase
Stephen Colbert, this administration doesn't make decisions based on facts. It
makes facts based on decisions. And as a result, our competitors around the
world are getting an edge on us in the global economy.
I want to
restore
I will
also dramatically increase investments in basic and applied research at the
National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, our
universities, and so many other entities that will take advantage of the tax
credit for research and experimentation. And I want to invest in the
idea-leaders of tomorrow by improving math and science education, expanding
fellowships for graduate study, and encouraging more women and minorities to
choose careers in science and engineering.
To
jumpstart our investment in alternative energy, I will establish a $50 billion
Strategic Energy Fund to develop clean energy technologies like biomass and
bio-fuels grown right here in Iowa to combat global warming and end our
dependence on foreign oil.
We'll pay
for the Strategic Energy Fund by eliminating the tax subsidies for the big oil
companies and requiring them to pay into the fund * If the senator understood the oil industry she would know
the elimination of tax breaks on marginal producing wells will remove the wells
from production. Uneconomic wells are
not produced. People need to understand
how the tax subsidies are calculated.
Static production volumes are not a reality. Without tax breaks on marginal wells, the
wells are simply plugged. And a plugged
well does not generate tax revenue. *
I would
give them an option, if they are willing to invest in alternative, clean, green
technologies themselves then they won't have to pay into the fund, they won't
get the tax subsidies because there is no reason for us to be subsidizing them.
Our oil companies have made record profits on the energy system that has
reduced our incomes, accelerated climate change, and undermined our national
security. It's time from them finally to do their part to build a new energy
economy that benefits all Americans and secures our children's future. * The senator is using a populist message to
attract votes and disregards the reality that tax increases have on an
industry. *
We are
seeing what the future could be right here in
Countries
around the world are moving much faster than we are. Employment for example in
I will also harness the power of innovation to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. This is a problem that if we don't deal with it we're going to be slowing our economic growth. Economists estimate that every $1 billion spent on fixing crumbling infrastructure creates nearly 48,000 new jobs. My Rebuild America Plan invests $10 billion over ten years in an "Emergency Repair Fund" to begin addressing the extensive backlog of emergency repairs needed in our country.
We need to
modernize our roads, our rail systems, our seaports, our public transit
systems, and to expand broadband access across
I believe
we can innovate our way to 21st century manufacturing. Now I know there are
people in
And this is just the beginning. Later this week, I'll be outlining an additional set * Additional set? No proposal was presented. * of innovation initiatives, building on proposals that I've been making through this campaign as well as some new ones.
But in
addition to creating new jobs with rising incomes to be globally competitive,
we've got to do more to restore fairness to our economy * when did fairness exist? *, to empower our
workers and ensure that all Americans get their fair share.
That starts with standing up for our unions so that they can stand up for our workers.
Unionized
workers make 30% more money than workers who aren't in unions. I want to put
that up in a great big billboard because a lot of people don't know that the
difference is that dramatic. But today just 7% of our private sector workplace
is unionized. * Are high union wages
the reason union jobs are dwindling in the USA? * Millions of other people whose jobs are not
covered are much more vulnerable to unsafe working conditions, being deprived
of benefits, not getting their fair share when it comes to the income they
receive for the jobs they do.
If more
people in
As
President, I will fight to pass the Employee Free Choice Act so unions can
organize for fair wages and safe working conditions.
You know
it used to be in
Unlike the
current President, I will actually appoint people to the Department of Labor
and the National Labor Relations Board who are pro-labor and care about working
people...
And I will
work from day one to ensure that our trade policies actually work for American
workers. That they include strong enforceable protections for labor and environmental
standards, and that they deliver benefits not just for trading partners, not
just for the people at the top of the income scale in America, but for all
Americans.
Because
look at what has happened in the past six years. Our trade deficit has doubled
in just six years to $760 billion a year. The Economic Policy Institute
estimates that we've lost 1.8 million jobs to
It's time
for a new approach, one that doesn't lead to a race to the bottom, but instead
ensures that ordinary citizens not CEO's but people who do the work in America
and in other nations come out ahead again.
I will
start by appointing a Trade Enforcement Officer within the United States Trade
Representative's Office who will be responsible for vigorously enforcing trade
agreements. * So the enforcement of
trade agreements is the apparent reason the agreements are not working for all
Americans? Does this address the fact
the USA is now competing against billions of people in the developing economies
around the world? * And I will double the size of the enforcement
unit. The Bush Administration has filed roughly the same number of enforcement
actions under our trade agreements that were filed during one year of the
Clinton Administration. That is unacceptable. They're abdicating their
responsibility, no one should get away with violating trade agreements, and
when I'm President, we're going to start enforcing them again and we're not
going to enter into them unless we think they're going to be good for American
workers.
Next I
will work to address specific problems with NAFTA. As I've said before, this
agreement has some serious shortcomings. For example, I did a study last year
in
And
finally, I will overhaul our Trade Adjustment Assistance Program to ensure that
workers who've lost their jobs because of global competition get the income
support, the health care, the job training and the job placement assistance
they need to get back on their feet.
You know
the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program is a lifeline for workers across
I want to double the funding for the job training program under TAA to $440 million a year and increase TAA tax credits to help displaced workers pay for health insurance. Now ultimately under my American Health Choices Plan, workers will be able to buy into the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan, the same program that insures members of Congress.
I will
also work to restore fairness to our tax system. First I will return to the
income tax rates for upper-income Americans that we had in the 1990s.
Those
rates were consistent with a balanced budget and economic growth. * Did
the tax cuts lead to a decline in AGIs after 2000? Does the senator believe a tax rate increase
will lead to higher AGIs? * And I will level the playing field when it
comes to taxes on income. Right now, Wall Street investment managers making $50
million a year pay just 15% on their earnings because they classify what they
do as ordinary income. As not ordinary income, but as capital gains. When they
go to work everyday, they manage all this money, but they say what they're
doing is an investment, not management. Well a teacher making $50,000 a year
pays 25%.
Those who
have been most richly rewarded by the modern economy should not pay lower tax
rates on their incomes than nurses or home health care workers or bus drivers
or machinists or anybody else and we are going to make sure that they no longer
do.
For middle class Americans, I will extend the tax cuts including the child tax credit, the marriage penalty relief, and lower income tax rates that they currently pay. And I will reform something called the Alternative Minimum Tax, the AMT, to make sure it doesn't hit middle class families with higher tax rates. It was never intended to do that. I will also expand the Earned Income Tax Credit to help families that are struggling to join the middle class. And I will be providing tax credits to help small businesses pay for health care.
I want to
take a hard look at corporate tax reform as well. It is simply not right that
as corporate profits have skyrocketed, the percentage of taxes paid by
corporations has fallen. * Stockholders, consumers and employees pay
corporate taxes. Corporations, being a
legal entity, are not people paying the bills.
There is no such thing as a “free lunch”. Readers should look at
The third
component of my plan is to restore
That starts
with recommitting ourselves to making college affordable for young people. You
know I was in
We know
that we've got to improve the skills and education of our workforce. But today,
and I have to confess I was surprised, I asked to find out the statistic but
even I was surprised. 75% of students at
And for
those who don't attend four-year colleges, and who need skills and training,
let's provide more support for community colleges and institutions that help
prepare them for good, high-paying jobs.
About a
year and a half ago I had two meetings within the space of one week. I had a
meeting with the auto dealers from New York who came to see me and they said,
you know, Senator, we have 600 good jobs for auto mechanics right now that we
can't get filled because nobody's training auto mechanics any longer. And the
job is more complicated because we all have these computers in our cars, you
know, they talk to us and tell us which way to turn and all that. And the auto
dealers say we don't know what to do so we're going to start our own school
because we don't know where we're going get people to do this important job.
Shortly after that I had a visit from some of the members of the machinist
union that I work with in
So, this
is a problem that we should begin to handle now. We have a lot of decent
hardworking young and not so young people who deserve to have a good job. And I
believe skilled workers will be in a shortage in the future. So let's start
giving them the tools they need to be competitive right now.
And of
course I outlined my health care plan to ensure that every American has
quality, affordable health care. You know, the American Health Choices Plan is
really simple. If you have insurance you like, you keep it. If you don't have
insurance or don't like the insurance you have, you can choose from the same
menu of private plans available to members of Congress or you can opt into a
new public plan that will be like Medicare. We'll provide those tax credits to
make it affordable and your coverage will be guaranteed even if you lose your
job, even if it is outsourced. And if you decide to start your own business or
stay home with your children for a few years, you will never be denied coverage
because of pre-existing conditions or risk factors.
I believe
we can save $120 billion a year in our health care system. If we emphasize
prevention, which we don't do now; if we emphasize chronic care management,
which we don't do very well now; if we move toward electronic medical records
so we don't keep losing medical records and people are told they have to take
the same test twice, three times over and when you travel from Iowa to see your
family in Illinois or Florida you can have that record at your fingertips. So,
there's a lot we can do. And that will also create new jobs.
And
finally another component of the basic bargain is homeownership. Years of
progress on this front are threatened by the growing problems in the housing
market and I think we have to address this crisis immediately. If home prices keep
falling, many families will soon find themselves with mortgages larger than the
value of their homes. At that point, they won't be able to refinance. So we
don't have any time to waste.
I've
already announced a four-part plan to address mortgage industry abuses. Crack
down on unscrupulous brokers, curb unfair lending practices, support state and
community initiatives that help families avoid foreclosure, and increase the
supply of affordable housing in
Today I'm
announcing three new proposals.
The first
is what I'm calling the Save Our Homes Program to rescue families trapped in
unworkable mortgages. $50 billion dollars worth of adjustable rate mortgages
are resetting in October and approximately $30 billion will reset every month
thereafter for the next year. That means hundreds of thousands of Americans
will see their mortgage rates jump and too many will go into default. The Save
Our Homes Program will enable these two federally chartered entities, Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as state housing finance agencies, to replace
these unworkable mortgages with stable, fixed-rate loans that families can
afford.
My second
proposal is the Realizing the Dream Program to make more mortgage credit
available to responsible homebuyers now. Right now because of market
conditions, many banks are reluctant to write mortgages even for responsible,
credit-worthy buyers. They're especially reluctant to write mortgages larger
than those that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy from them. So my plan would
temporarily increase the size of the mortgages that Fannie and Freddie, as we
call them in
My third
proposal is a Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Act to crack down on the unscrupulous
consultants. I already said let's crack down on the unscrupulous brokers. Now
we've got a whole new field of unscrupulous consultants that are knocking on
the doors of people who are at risk of losing their homes. They're claiming to
be able to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. They're taking hefty fees and
they're disappearing. No actual assistance - spread the word. Anybody you know,
don't listen to anybody who calls you on the phone or knocks on your door and
tells you they've got a great way of saving your home. If it's too good to be
true, it probably isn't true.
So what I want to do is to create a federal statute imposing criminal penalties on these fraudulent consultants and allow victims to collect damages so that they don't get even more victimized.
As you
know in
And I will
also protect retirement security. We're going to stand up for Social Security * The CBO disclosed in January 2001, when the
forecasted budget surplus was at the highest level, the debt generated from the
retiring baby-boom generation risks overwhelming the USA economy. Based on the senator’s statement, she is
willing to accept a debt level that will overwhelm the USA economy. * and Medicare. I'll be outlining in more
detail my plan to help Americans save, invest, and build wealth for retirement
tomorrow because we know we've got to tackle that as well. And I don't think we
can do all of this unless we return
I'll tell
you how he's done it. He's run record deficits and he's borrowed money from
foreign countries like
So
when people ask me, why is it so hard to get tough on
I want
I think
it's going to be a challenge to do this but I believe this is the change that
Seventy-one
years ago this month during a campaign stop in
Well, it's
time for
Thank you
all very much.
* Senator Clinton previously stated, “And no one should be surprised, human nature being what it is,
people will go as far as they possibly can get away with.” A word to the wise should be sufficient! *