Hillary's Economic Message

Wasting no time, Hillary rolls out her five-point economic plan:

I think it’s an understatement to say that Americans face a choice in November. As I said yesterday in Ohio, Donald Trump offers no real solutions for the economic challenges we face. He just continues to spout reckless ideas that will run up our debt and cause another economic crash. I’m here today to offer an alternative. I have a clear vision for the economy and it’s this. We need to make sure our economy works for everyone. Not just those at the top. . . .

Not just for the rich or the well-connected, not just for people living in some parts of the country or people from certain backgrounds and not others, I mean everyone. And I have a plan, I have a plan to get us there. Five steps we can take together to drive growth that’s strong, fair and lasting. Growth that reduces inequality, increases upward mobility, that reaches into every corner of our country. . . .

So do not grow weary. Do not grow weary. There are great ideas out there. And we are going to be partners in a big, bold effort to increase economic growth and distribute it more fairly, to build that economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top.

I believe the federal government should adopt five ambitious goals. First, let’s break through the dysfunction in Washington to make the biggest investment in new good-paying jobs since World War II. . . .

Second, let’s make college debt-free for all, and transform the way we prepare Americans for the jobs of the future. . . .

Third, let’s rewrite the rules so more companies share profits with their employers and few ship profits and jobs overseas. . . . If corporations try to move their headquarters to a foreign country to skip out on their tax bills, let’s slap a new exit tax on them, and then put that money to work in the communities left behind. . . .

Finally [sic, she meant "fourth"], let’s make sure that Wall Street corporations and the super rich pay their fair share of taxes. . . .

And finally, here’s our fifth goal. Let’s put families first, and make sure our policies match how you actually work and live in the 21st century. . . . You know, I looked at the numbers. In some states, two parents earning the minimum wage have to spend up to 35 percent of their income on childcare. For a single parent, it could be 70 percent. So I have set a goal. Families should not have to pay more than 10 percent of your income for childcare.

As we would expect from Hillary, this is the mainstream Democratic plan: higher taxes on the rich, major new infrastructure spending to create jobs, rewriting the laws on corporate behavior to make it harder to dodge taxes and easier to share earnings with employees, a complex scheme to reduce tuition and student debt by leveraging the huge amount of money the government spends on higher education, an equally complex scheme to subsidize child care through the tax code.

I support all of these things. And I especially like the "do not grow weary" line. After all Democratic politicians have been pushing for these things since her husband's 1992 campaign, with limited success, and some of us are weary indeed.