Hillary Clinton: Why You Should Vote for Me

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The following op-ed appears in Monday’s issue of USA Today:

Hillary Clinton: Why you should vote for me
Hillary Clinton
USA Today
November 6, 2016

In January, America is going to have a new president. Things are going to change — that much is certain. The question is, what kind of change are we going to have?

We can build an economy that works for everyone, or stack the deck even more for those at the top.

We can keep America safe through strength and smarts — or turn our backs on our allies, and cozy up to our adversaries.

We can come together to build a stronger, fairer America, or fear the future and fear each other.

Everything I’ve done, as first lady, senator, or secretary of State, I’ve done by listening to people and looking for common ground, even with people who disagree with me. And if you elect me on Tuesday, that’s the kind of president I’ll be.

Here are four priorities for my first 100 days — issues I’ve heard about from Americans all over our country.

First, we will put forward the biggest investment in new jobs since World War II. We’ll invest in infrastructure and manufacturing to grow our economy for years to come. We’ll produce enough renewable energy to power every home in America within a decade. We’ll cut red tape for small businesses and make it easier for entrepreneurs to get the credit they need to grow and hire — because in America, if you can dream it, you should be able to build it. We’ll pay for it all by asking the wealthy, Wall Street and big corporations to finally pay their fair share. And this commitment will go far beyond the first 100 days. Creating more good jobs with rising incomes will be a central mission of my presidency.

Second, we will introduce comprehensive immigration reform legislation. The last president to sign comprehensive immigration reform was Ronald Reagan, and it was a priority for George W. Bush. I’m confident that we can work across the aisle to pass comprehensive reform that keeps families together and creates a path to citizenship, secures our border, and focuses our enforcement resources on violent criminals. This is the right thing to do, and it will also grow our economy.

Third, to break the gridlock in Washington, we need to get secret, unaccountable money out of our politics. It’s drowning out the voices of the American people. So within my first 30 days, I will introduce a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. We should be protecting citizens’ rights to vote, not corporations’ rights to buy elections.

Fourth, we need to get started on end-to-end criminal justice reform. Too many people have been sent away for far too long for non-violent offenses. I believe our country will be stronger and safer when everyone has respect for the law and everyone is respected by the law.

There’s so much more we need to do together, and we certainly won’t get it all done in the first 100 days. But we’re going to roll up our sleeves and get to work for American families — and I’ll never, ever quit.

I want to be president for all Americans — Democrats, Republicans and independents; Americans of every race, faith and background.

My opponent has run his campaign on divisiveness, fear and insults, and spent months pitting Americans against each other. I’ve said many times that Donald Trump has shown us who he is. Now we have to decide who we are.

Because it’s not just our names on the ballot this year. Every issue we care about is on the ballot, too. This is about who we are as a country — and whether we are going to have change that makes us stronger together, or change that pushes us further apart.

It all comes down to this. I love our country. I believe in our people. And I think there’s nothing we can’t achieve if we work together and invest in each other.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on TwitterFacebookYouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: USA Today

Final Review: Hillary Clinton’s Comprehensive Platform

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Before the majority of Americans head to the polls on Tuesday, the campaign has heated up in the battle between Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. Clinton has outlined a comprehensive platform while what has been offered by Trump little substance and foundation. Clinton’s platform is built on a career of public service and an understanding of domestic and foreign policies. While everyone may not agree with all of platform points, taken as a whole it is clear that she has put together a solid plan to more the country forward and ensure that everyone has an opportunity to live up to their full potential.

When Clinton has introduced a major platform topic, we add it to the Platform category of the website. Looking through Clinton’s speeches and policy proposals, a clear plan emerges. From Clinton’s kickoff rally in June 2015 to the announcement of her plan to combat bullying just a few weeks ago, a list of Clinton’s platform speech topics and announcement dates are below:

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

Senator Sanders Campaigns for Hillary in Michigan, Wisconsin

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Senator Bernie Sanders attended two campaign events in Michigan on Wednesday. At events in Kalamazoo and Traverse City, Sanders spoke about the importance of electing Hillary Clinton president to continue the progress the country has made the last several years. While he admitted there is still work to be done, Sanders said that Clinton’s plans are better for the country than those of Donald Trump. Sanders maintained the populist tone that he is famous for saying that it is important to grow the middle class. “It is absolutely imperative that we elect Hillary Clinton, but it is equally imperative that millions of us work together to transform this country. To do that we will have to work hard because the people who have the power are the billionaire class, drug companies, fossil fuel companies and Wall Street. No one will be able to take them on if millions of people don’t tell them government belongs to all of us, not just a few,” he said. A video of Sanders’ speech in Kalamazoo is below.

Sanders then traveled to Wisconsin where he spoke to a crowd of supporters in Milwaukee about a number of the plans Clinton has proposed. He spoke about her plans to raise the minimum wage, ensure equal pay for women, and to make college more affordable. Sanders spent some time talking about college affordability since the plan proposed by Clinton is a product of Clinton and Sanders working together. Sanders concluded the event by urging everyone to vote on November 8th. A video from the event will be added when/if available.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on TwitterFacebookYouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: Michigan Live, 9 & 10 News, Fox 6, WISN

Hillary’s Plan: Debt and Entitlements

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Clinton Will Fight For Medicare & Social Security, Pay For Her Plans; Trump Will Risk These Programs & Add Trillions To Debt

Tonight, voters will hear from Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on six topics of national importance: debt and entitlements, immigration, economy, the Supreme Court, foreign policy, and the fitness of the candidates to serve as president.

Clinton has stood up for Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid her entire career, and she will not stop now.  She will ensure the wealthy, Wall Street, and big corporations pay their fair share, invest in middle-class families, and defend and expand Medicare and Social Security.  Furthermore, her new plans are paid for, so they will not add to the national debt.

Conversely, Trump’s plans will add $21 trillion to the national debt over 20 years and give reckless tax cuts to the wealthy instead of investing in Medicare and Social Security for generations to come.

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Hillary’s vision on fiscal matters is clear. As she has said before, “We know what sound fiscal policy looks like and it sure isn’t running up massive debts to pay for giveaways to the rich. And it is not painful austerity that hurts working families and undercuts our long-term progress. It’s being strong, stable, and making smart investments in our future. So let’s set the right priorities and pay for them, so we can hand our children a healthier economy and a better future.”

Hillary has put forward credible plans to pay for her proposals without adding to the national debt.  As president, Hillary will:

  • Continue to put forth plans that add up, are paid for, and will not add to the national debt. As the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said recently, “We are encouraged that Clinton continues to largely pay for her new spending…”
  • Restore fairness to the tax code and make sure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share. The independent, non-partisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center found that around 2/3rds of the revenue from Hillary’s tax plan came from the top 0.1%, earning more than $3.7 million per year.
  • NYT: “Mrs. Clinton would substantially raise taxes on high-income taxpayers, mostly on the top 1 percent; … reduce taxes on average for middle- and low-income households; and overhaul corporate taxes. Her plan would increase federal revenue $1.4 trillion over the first decade….Mrs. Clinton would use the money to pay for education and other initiatives.”
  • Hillary has a responsible, progressive fiscal vision. Progressive policies such as investing in growth and the middle class, and asking the wealthy to pay their fair share – not trillions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy, have been successful. For example, President Bill Clinton took a $300 billion deficit in the year before he took office and turned it into a $200 billion surplus.

Hillary believes seniors have paid into Social Security for a lifetime, and they’ve earned these benefits when they retire. Social Security isn’t just a program—it’s a promise.  As president, Hillary will:

  • Defend Social Security against Republican attacks and attempts to privatize the program – and refuse to embrace proposals to raise the retirement age or reduce cost-of-living adjustments
  • Expand Social Security for those who need it most and who are treated unfairly by the current system—including women who are widows and those who took significant time out of the paid workforce to take care of their children, aging parents, or ailing family members.
  • Preserve Social Security for decades to come by asking the wealthiest to contribute more.

Hillary believes Medicare and Medicaid are the bedrock of health care coverage for more than 50 million Americans, from seniors to people with disabilities.  As president, Hillary will:

  • Fight to preserve Medicare benefits for Americans – and stand strongly against Republican attempts to “phase out” or privatize Medicare.
  • Require drug manufacturers to provide rebates for low-income Medicare enrollees that are equivalent to rebates in the Medicaid program through her prescription drug plan.
  • Reduce the cost of prescription drugs for seniors by allowing Medicare to use its leverage with more than 40 million enrollees to negotiate drug and biologic prices.
  • Tackle rising medical costs by expanding value-based delivery system reform in Medicare.
  • Help protect consumers from unjustified price hikes for long-available drugs.
  • Ensure we expand Medicaid in the states where Republican governors and legislatures have refused to do so.

Donald Trump may have abused the tax system to avoid paying taxes into Social Security and Medicare – Hillary Clinton would help end this practice. Based on what we do know about Donald Trump’s tax returns, independent experts at the Tax Policy Center believe that Trump may have avoided paying his fair share in taxes into Social Security and Medicare by abusively taking advantage of the so-called “Gingrich-Edwards” loophole. This loophole allows some high-income business people to funnel their wages through a business.  While the law still requires these business owners to pay payroll taxes on a reasonable portion of compensation, Trump may have flouted this legal requirement and avoided paying his fair share in payroll taxes that support programs like Social Security and Medicare. Earlier this year, Hillary Clinton embraced a proposal from President Obama’s budget that would end such abuses and crack down on tax gaming by high-income individuals through shifting business income, including addressing the so-called “Gingrich-Edwards” loophole.

Donald Trump’s tax plan would increase the debt by $21 trillion over 20 years to give tax cuts to the rich, and he has recklessly considered defaulting on the national debt.

  • Trump infamously called himself the “king of debt” and has proposed a tax plan that would increase our national debt by 21 trillion over 20 years – with more than half of the benefits going to the top 1%.
  • Trump displayed his willingness to play Russian roulette with the full faith and credit of the U.S., suggesting recently that “you could make the case” for defaulting on the debt, or maybe we could just “make a deal.” Defaulting on our debt would undermine more than 200 years of confidence in the American economy, and could cause a global financial crisis.

Paying for Donald Trump’s tax cuts for the rich could require cutting Medicare and Social Security by trillions:

  • As an analysis by CAP Action explains, “Trump says his agenda ‘will be completely paid-for,’ but paying for his tax plan would require cutting federal spending by an average of approximately 13.5 percent. In the next 10 years, an across-the-board cut of 13.5 percent would mean cutting Social Security by $1.7 trillion and cutting Medicare by $1.1 trillion.”

Trump is willing to jeopardize Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which he once called a Ponzi scheme.

Trump’s plan to block grant Medicaid could cause millions of low-income adults and people with disabilities to lose or see lower benefits.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on TwitterFacebookYouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

Hillary’s Plan: The Economy

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Under Clinton, Economy is “Stronger Together.”  Under Trump, Economy is “Billionaires First.”

Hillary Clinton believes our economy is stronger when we grow together. She’s put forward a comprehensive agenda to build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top — fighting for the largest investment in good-paying jobs since World War II, debt-free college, profit-sharing, tax fairness, and family-friendly policies like paid leave. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has put forward an agenda that showers billionaires and millionaires like himself with trillions in tax breaks and new loopholes, recklessly exploding the deficit while actually raising taxes on millions of middle-class families.

When John McCain’s former economic advisor studied the two plans, he actually calculated that under Hillary’s plans the economy would create 10.4 million jobs in her first term alone—while Trump’s plans would result in a “lengthy recession” and a loss of 3.4 million jobs.

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*Trump has outsourced his products to at least 12 countries and routinely picks Chinese steel over U.S. manufacturers.

Hillary Clinton believes we need to build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top.  As president, Clinton will:

Trump’s reckless agenda would shower billionaires and millionaires like himself with trillions in tax breaks and new loopholes, recklessly exploding the deficit while actually raising taxes on millions of middle-class families. Trump will:

  • Enact a massive backdoor tax cut for billionaires and millionaires like himself, also known as “The Trump Loophole.”
  • Widen the “carried interest” loophole by slashing tax rates on partnerships, including hedge funds and private equity firms.
  • Get rid of the Wall Street reforms enacted after the recent crash, removing protections for consumers.
  • Eliminate the estate tax, resulting in a $4 billion tax cut for his family alone — while giving 99.8% of Americans nothing.
  • Actually raising taxes on millions of middle-class families.

Run up the national debt by nearly $21 trillion over 20 years.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on TwitterFacebookYouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

Hillary Clinton Announces New Middle Class Tax Cut

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On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton announced a new plan that will expand tax relief to families with young children. The plan is outlined in the following release from Hillary for America:

As part of her plan to build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top, Hillary Clinton is announcing today a new expansion of the Child Tax Credit for families with young children. She will double the Child Tax Credit to a maximum of $2,000 per child up to and including age 4, and she’ll expand access to millions more families. As many as 15 million young children will be eligible for the credit of up to $2,000 – and millions more people will benefit from additional relief. And this is only a down payment on further relief for middle-class families.

“Hard-working, middle-class families are struggling with rising costs for child care, health care, caregiving and college,” said Clinton. “This new tax credit will make their lives a little bit easier and help restore fairness to our economy.”

Clinton has previously announced middle class tax relief in the form of an up-to-$5,000 credit for families with excessive out of pocket health costs, and up to $1,200 for families caring for parents and grandparents.

Specifically, Clinton is announcing today that she will:

  • Double the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to $2,000 for each young child. Right now, the Child Tax Credit gives millions of families up to $1,000 per child each year to help cover all the burdens they face. Clinton will double the maximum credit to $2,000 for each young child up to and including age 4.
  • Expand Child Tax Credit refundability so millions more working families get additional relief. Under our current system millions of families do not qualify for the full credit or get very little benefit because they simply do not make enough money, since the tax code excludes the first $3,000 in earnings in determining whether a working family is eligible for refundable relief. Clinton will lower the threshold for refundability from $3,000 to the first dollar of earnings for families with children of all ages, so every working family can benefit. And she will increase the phase-in rate to 45% from 15% for families with young children. According to the nonpartisan Urban Institute, the credit is structured so that families at the low end of the income distribution do not receive the full credit, and those families that are left out are more likely to be African-American and Latino. Improving refundability and increasing the phase-in rate will help close this gap and increase the overall fairness in the system.
  • Provide further tax relief for middle-class families, including those without children, and with older children: Clinton believes we should go further than doubling the Child Tax Credit for young children. The expansion Clinton is calling for today is a down payment on her overall vision for tax relief for middle-class families. Clinton believes we should further expand the Child Tax Credit for families with older children, and expand refundable relief for low-income workers without children.

Clinton’s plan will be fully paid for by her proposals to ensure the wealthy, Wall Street, and big corporations pay their fair share. And like the current Child Tax Credit, it will phase out for higher-income families.

Refundable tax credits like the Child Tax Credit reward work, lift families out of poverty, and improve lifelong outcomes for kids. Studies have shown that the Child Tax Credit helps lift millions of Americans out of poverty each year. Not only does the Child Tax Credit help fight poverty for families in the year that they qualify for the tax cut, its effects can be seen for many years later. Parents in families that receive refundable credits like the Child Tax Credit are more likely to be in the labor force and contribute to the economy. Children in those families do better in school, are more likely to go to college and earn more when they become adults.

Clinton’s proposals to expand relief for hard-working families with children stand in strong contrast to Donald Trump’s plans. Because Trump’s child care and maternity leave plan gives far more to high-income families than middle-class families struggling with costs, and his tax plan rolls back dependent exemptions and other relief for parents with children, it would actually raise taxes on 8 million middle-class families to fund his tax cuts for the rich and multinational corporations, and $4 billion for his own family.

Specifically, hard-working families that get tax relief under Clinton’s plan would see tax increases, or a much smaller tax cut, under Trump:

  • A single parent earning $75,000 per year, with two young children, and $8,000 in childcare costs would see a $1,640 tax increase under Trump, and $2,000 in tax relief under Clinton’s plan. A recent academic analysis found that compared to current law, Trump’s plan would raise taxes on this family by $1,640, because it eliminates personal exemptions and the head-of-household filing status. Clinton’s expansion of the Child Tax Credit would give them an extra $2,000 in tax relief.

According to the same analysis, a married couple earning $50,000 per year, with two young children, and $8,000 in childcare costs would get a $93 tax cut under Trump’s plan, and $2,000 in tax relief under Clinton’s plan.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on TwitterFacebookYouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: The Wall Street Journal

HFA Statement on Latest Analysis of Trump’s Tax Plan

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In response to new reports on the Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tax plans from the Tax Policy Center, Hillary for America Senior Policy Advisor Jacob Leibenluft released the following statement:

“This report is further evidence of the clear choice for voters in this election. According to an independent analysis, Hillary Clinton’s plan would provide middle-class tax relief and pay for investments in good-paying jobs by requiring the wealthy, Wall Street and large corporations to pay their fair share. Donald Trump’s plan is the most extreme form of trickle-down economics: adding more than $20 trillion to the debt over the next two decades by providing massive giveaways to the richest Americans. In fact, the report shows Trump will give as much tax relief to the top 1% as everyone else combined – even as he raises taxes on millions of working families with children. And what’s more, the Tax Policy Center has exposed a lie Trump told at Sunday night’s debate: while Clinton would close the carried interest loophole that allows Wall Street money managers to pay a lower rate than many middle-class families, Trump’s plan would actually make that loophole even worse.”

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on TwitterFacebookYouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

Details: Hillary Clinton’s Comprehensive Presidential Platform

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Since launching her campaign in April 2015, Hillary Clinton has outlined a number of major platform points in a series of speeches. As we near the election, the campaign has heated up in the battle between Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. With a little over a month to go, it is important that Clinton continue to deliver substantive speeches and combat a Trump platform that offers no substance or foundation. Clinton’s platform is built on a career of public service and an understanding of domestic and foreign policies. While everyone may not agree with all of platform points, taken as a whole it is clear that she has put together a solid plan to more the country forward and ensure that everyone has an opportunity to live up to their full potential.

When Clinton has introduced a major platform topic, we add it to the Platform category of the website. Looking through Clinton’s speeches and policy proposals, a clear plan emerges. From Clinton’s kickoff rally in June 2015 to the announcement of her plans to protect the rights of disabled Americans earlier this month, a list of Clinton’s platform speech topics and announcement dates are below:

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

Read: Hillary Clinton’s Comprehensive Platform

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Since launching her campaign in April 2015, Hillary Clinton has outlined a number of major platform points in a series of speeches. As we near the election, the campaign has heated up in the battle between Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. With a little over a month to go, it is important that Clinton continue to deliver substantive speeches and combat a Trump platform that offers no substance or foundation. Clinton’s platform is built on a career of public service and an understanding of domestic and foreign policies. While everyone may not agree with all of platform points, taken as a whole it is clear that she has put together a solid plan to more the country forward and ensure that everyone has an opportunity to live up to their full potential.

When Clinton has introduced a major platform topic, we add it to the Platform category of the website. Looking through Clinton’s speeches and policy proposals, a clear plan emerges. From Clinton’s kickoff rally in June 2015 to the announcement of her plans to protect the rights of disabled Americans earlier this month, a list of Clinton’s platform speech topics and announcement dates are below:

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.