Read Hillary Clinton's big economic speech - Vox
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at The New School on July 13, 2015
in New York City.
Hillary Clinton delivered a major speech on the economy Monday in New
York. Following is a transcript of her remarks, which was provided by her
campaign.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. Thank you very much President Van
Zandt, and thanks to everyone at the New School for welcoming us today. Ifm
delighted to be back.
"You know over the past few months, Ifve had the opportunity to listen to
Americansf concerns about an economy that still isnft delivering for them. Itfs
not delivering the way it should — it still seems to most Americans that I have
spoken with that it is stacked for those at the top.
"But Ifve also heard their hopes for the future: going to college without
drowning in debtcstarting that small business theyfve always dreamed aboutc
getting a job that pays well enough to support a family and provide for a
secure retirement.
"Previous generations of Americans built the greatest economy and strongest
middle class the world has ever known on the promise of a basic bargain:
"If you work hard and do your part, you should be able to get ahead. And when
you get ahead, America gets ahead.
"But over several decades, that bargain has eroded. Our job is to make it
strong again.
"For 35 years, Republicans have argued that if we give more wealth to those
at the top — by cutting their taxes and letting big corporations write their own
rules — it will trickle down, it will trickle down to everyone else.
"Yet every time they have a chance to try that approach, it explodes the
national debt, concentrates wealth even more, and does practically nothing to
help hard-working Americans.
"Twice now in the past 20 years, a Democratic president has had to come in
and clean up the mess. I think the results speak for themselves.
"Under President Clinton — I like the sound of that — America saw the longest
peacetime expansion in history c nearly 23 million jobs... a balanced budget
and a surplus for the future. And most importantly, incomes rose across the
board, not just for those already at the top.
"Eight years later, President Obama and the American peoplefs hard work
pulled us back from the brink of Depression. President Obama saved the auto
industry, imposed new rules on Wall Street, and provided health care to 16
million Americans.
"Now today, today as the shadow of crisis recedes and longer-term challenges
come into focus, I believe we have to build a "growth and fairness" economy.
You canft have one without the other.
"We canft create enough jobs and new businesses without more growth, and we
canft build strong families and support our consumer economy without more
fairness.
"We need both, because while America is standing again, wefre not yet running
the way we should.
"Corporate profits are at near-record highs and Americans are working as hard
as ever — but paychecks have barely budged in real terms.
"Families today are stretched in so many directions, and so are their
budgets. Out-of-pocket costs of health care, childcare, caring for aging
parents are rising a lot faster than wages.
"I hear this everywhere I go.
"The single mom who talked to me about juggling a job and classes at
community college, while raising three kids. She doesnft expect anything to
come easy, but if she got a raise, everything wouldnft be quite so hard.
"The grandmother who works around the clock providing childcare to other
peoplefs kids.
"Shefs proud of her work but the pay is barely enough to live on, especially
with the soaring price of her prescription drugs.
"The young entrepreneur whose dream of buying the bowling alley where he
worked as a teenager was nearly derailed by his student debt. If he can grow
his business, hefll be able to pay off his debt and pay his employees,
including himself, more too.
"Millions of hard-working Americans tell similar stories.
"Wages need to rise to keep up with costs.
"Paychecks need to grow.
"Families who work hard and do their part deserve to get ahead and stay
ahead.
"The defining economic challenge of our time is clear:
"We must raise incomes for hard-working Americans so they can afford a
middle-class life. We must drive strong and steady income growth that lifts up
families and lifts up our country.
"And that will be my mission from the first day Ifm President to the last. I
will get up everyday thinking about the families of America, like the family
that I came from with a hard working dad who started a small business and
scrimped and saved and gave us a good middle class life. Ifll be thinking about
all the people that I represented here in New York and the stories that they
told me and that I worked with them to improve. And I will as your President
take on this challenge against the backdrop of major changes in our economy and
the global economy that didnft start with the recession and wonft end with the
recovery.
"You know advances in technology and expanding global trade have created
whole new areas of commercial activity and opened new markets for our exports,
but too often theyfre also polarizing our economy -- benefiting high-skilled
workers but displacing or downgrading blue collar jobs and other midlevel jobs
that used to provide solid incomes for millions of Americans.
"Todayfs marketplace focuses too much on the short term — like
second-to-second financial trading and quarterly earnings reports — and too
little on long-term investments.
"Meanwhile, many Americans are making extra money renting out a spare room,
designing websites, selling products they design themselves at home, or even
driving their own car. This 'on demand' or so-called 'gig economy' is creating
exciting opportunities and unleashing innovation but itfs also raising hard
questions about workplace protections and what a good job will look like in the
future.
"So all of these trends are real, and none, none is going away. But they
donft determine our destiny. The choices we make as a nation matter. And the
choices we make in the years ahead will set the stage for what American life in
the middle class in our economy will be like in this century.
"As President, I will work with every possible partner to turn the tide. To
make these currents of change start working for us more than against us. To
strengthen — not hollow out — the American middle class.
"Because I think at our best, thatfs what Americans do. Wefre problem
solvers, not deniers. We donft hide from change — we harness it.
"The measure of our success must be how much incomes rise for hard-working
families, not just for successful CEOs and money managers. And not just some
arbitrary growth target untethered to peoplefs lives and livelihoods.
"I want to see our economy work for the struggling, the striving, and the
successful.
"Wefre not going to find all the answers we need today in the playbooks of
the past. We canft go back to the old policies that failed us before.
Nor can we just replay previous successes. Today is not 1993 or 2009. We need
solutions for the big challenges we face now.
"So today I am proposing an agenda to raise incomes for hard-working
Americans. An agenda for strong growth, fair growth, and long-term growth.
"Let me begin with strong growth.
"More growth means more jobs and more new businesses. More jobs give people
choices about where to work. And employers have to offer higher wages and
better benefits in order to compete with each other to hire new workers and keep
the productive ones. Thatfs why economists tell us that getting closer to full
employment is crucial for raising incomes.
"Small businesses create more than 60 percent of new American jobs on net. So
they have to be a top priority. Ifve said I want to be the small business
President, and I mean it. And throughout this campaign Ifm going to be talking
about how we empower entrepreneurs with less red tape, easier access to capital,
tax relief and simplification.
"Ifll also push for broader business tax reform to spur investment in
America, closing those loopholes that reward companies for sending jobs and
profits overseas.
"And I know itfs not always how we think about this, but another engine of
strong growth should be comprehensive immigration reform.
"I want you to hear this: Bringing millions of hard-working people into the
formal economy would increase our gross domestic product by an estimated $700
billion over 10 years.
"Then there are the new public investments that will help established
businesses and entrepreneurs create the next generation of high-paying
jobs.
"You know when we get Americans moving, we get our country moving.
"So letfs establish an infrastructure bank that can channel more public and
private funds, channel those funds to finance world-class airports, railways,
roads, bridges and ports.
"And letfs build those faster broadband networks — and make sure therefs a
greater diversity of providers so consumers have more choice.
"And really therefs no excuse not to make greater investments in cleaner,
renewable energy right now. Our economy obviously runs on energy. And the time
has come to make America the worldfs clean energy superpower. I advocate that
because these investments will create millions of jobs, save us money in the
long run, and help us meet the threats of climate change.
"And letfs fund the scientific and medical research that spawns innovative
companies and creates entire new industries, just as the project to sequence
the human genome did in the 1990s, and President Obamafs initiatives on
precision medicine and brain research will do in the coming years.
"I will set ambitious goals in all of these areas in the months ahead.
"But today let me emphasize another key ingredient of strong growth that
often goes overlooked and undervalued: breaking down barriers so more Americans
participate more fully in the workforce — especially women.
"We are in a global competition, as Ifm sure you have noticed, and we canft
afford to leave talent on the sidelines, but thatfs exactly what wefre doing
today. When we leave people out, or write them off, we not only shortchange
them and their dreams — we shortchange our country and our future.
"The movement of women into the workforce over the past forty years was
responsible for more than three and a half trillion dollars in economic
growth.
"But that progress has stalled. The United States used to rank 7th out of 24
advanced countries in womenfs labor force participation. By 2013, we had
dropped to 19th. That represents a lot of unused potential for our economy and
for American families.
"Studies show that nearly a third of this decline relative to other
countries is because theyfre expanding family-friendly policies like paid leave
and we are not.
"We should be making it easier for Americans to be both good workers and
good parents and caregivers. Women who want to work should be able to do so
without worrying every day about how theyfre going to take care of their
children or what will happen if a family member gets sick.
"You know last year while I was at the hospital here in Manhattan waiting
for little Charlotte to make her grand entrance, one of the nurses said, 'Thank
you for fighting for paid leave.' And we began to talk about it. She sees
first-hand what it means for herself and her colleagues as well as for the
working parents that she helps take care of.
"Itfs time to recognize that quality, affordable childcare is not a luxury –
itfs a growth strategy. And itfs way past time to end the outrage of so many
women still earning less than men on the job — and women of color making even
less.
"All this lost money adds up and for some women, itfs thousands of dollars
every year.
"Now I am well aware that for far too long, these challenges have been
dismissed by some as 'womenfs issues.'
"Well those days are over.
"Fair pay and fair scheduling, paid family leave and earned sick days, child
care are essential to our competitiveness and growth.
"And we can do this in a way that doesnft impose unfair burdens on businesses
– especially small businesses.
"As President, Ifll fight to put families first — just like I have my entire
career.
"Now, beyond strong growth, we also need fair growth. And that will be the
second key driver of rising incomes.
"The evidence is in: Inequality is a drag on our entire economy, so this is
the problem we need to tackle.
"You may have heard Governor Bush say last week that Americans just need to
work longer hours. Well, he must not have met very many American workers.
"Let him tell that to the nurse who stands on her feet all day or the
trucker who drives all night. Let him tell that to the fast food workers
marching in the streets for better pay. They donft need a lecture — they need a
raise.
"The truth is, the current rules for our economy reward some work – like
financial trading — much more than other work, like actually building and
selling things the work thatfs always been the backbone of our economy.
"To get all incomes rising again, we need to strike a better balance. If you
work hard, you ought to be paid fairly. So we have to raise the minimum wage
and implement President Obamafs new rules on overtime. And then we have to go
further.
"Ifll crack down on bosses who exploit employees by misclassifying them as
contractors or even steal their wages.
"To make paychecks stretch, we need to take on the major strains on family
budgets. Ifll protect the Affordable Care Act — and build on it to lower
out-of-pocket health care costs and to make prescription drugs more
affordable.
"Wefll help families look forward to retirement by defending and enhancing
Social Security and making it easier to save for the future.
"Now many of these proposals are time-tested and more than a little
battle-scarred. We need new ideas as well. And one that I believe in and will
fight for is profit sharing.
"Hard working Americans deserve to benefit from the record corporate earnings
they help produce. So I will propose ways to encourage companies to share
profits with their employees.
"Thatfs good for workers and good for business.
"Studies show profit-sharing that gives everyone a stake in a companyfs
success can boost productivity and put money directly into employeesf pockets.
Itfs a win-win.
"Later this week in New Hampshire, Ifll have more to say about how we do
this.
"Another priority must be reforming our tax code.
"Now we hear Republican candidates talk a lot about tax reform. But take a
good look at their plans. Senator Rubiofs would cut taxes for households making
around $3 million a year by almost $240,000 – which is way more than three times
the earnings of a typical family. Well thatfs a sure budget-busting give-away to
the super-wealthy. And thatfs the kind of bad economics youfre likely to get
from any of the candidates on the other side.
"I have a different take, guided by some simple principles.
"First, hard-working families need and deserve tax relief and
simplification.
"Second, those at the top have to pay their fair share. Thatfs why I support
the Buffett Rule, which makes sure that millionaires donft pay lower rates than
their secretaries.
"I have also called for closing the carried interest loophole, which lets
wealthy financiers pay an artificially low rate.
"And letfs agree that hugely successful companies that benefit from
everything America has to offer should not be able to game the system and avoid
paying their fair sharec especially while companies who canft afford high-price
lawyers and lobbyists end up paying more.
"Alongside tax reform, itfs time to stand up to efforts across our country to
undermine worker bargaining power, which has been proven again and again to
drive up wages.
"Republicans governors like Scott Walker have made their names stomping on
workersf rights. And practically all the Republican candidates hope to do the
same as President.
"I will fight back against these mean-spirited, misguided attacks.
"Evidence shows that the decline of unions may be responsible for a third of
the increase of inequality among men. So if we want to get serious about
raising incomes, we have to get serious about supporting workers.
"And let me just say a word here about trade. The Greek crisis as well as the
Chinese stock market have reminded us that growth here at home and growth an
ocean away are linked in a common global economy. Trade has been a major driver
of the economy over recent decades but it has also contributed to hollowing out
our manufacturing base and many hard-working communities. So we do need to set a
high bar for trade agreements.
"We should support them if they create jobs, raise wages, and advance our
national security. And we should be prepared to walk away if they donft.
"To create fair growth, we need to create opportunity for more Americans.
"I love the saying by Abraham Lincoln, who in many ways was not only the
president who saved our union, but the president who understood profoundly the
importance of the middle class, and the importance of the government playing
its role in providing opportunities. He talked about giving Americans a fair
chance in the race of life. I believe that with all my heart. But I also believe
it has to start really early at birth. High quality early learning, especially
in the first five years, can set children on the course for future success and
raise lifetime incomes by 25 percent.
"Ifm committed to seeing every 4-year old in America have access to
high-quality preschool in the next ten years. But I want to do more. I want to
call for a great outpouring of support from our faith community, our business
community, our academic institutions, from philanthropy and civic groups and
concerned citizens to really help parents, particularly parents who are facing a
lot of obstacles. To really help prepare their own children in that zero to four
age group.
"80% of your brain is physically formed by age of three. Thatfs why families
like mine read, talk, and sing endlessly to our granddaughter. Ifve said that
her first words are going to be enough with the reading, and the talking, and
the singing. But we do it not only because we love doing it, even though Ifll
admit itfs a little embarrassing to be reading a book to a two-week old, or a
six-week old, a ten-week old. But we do it because we understand that itfs
building her capacity for learning. And the research shows that by the time she
enters kindergarten she will have heard 30 million more words than I child from
a less privileged background.
"Think of what we are losing because we are not doing everything we can to
reach out to those families and we know again from so much research here in the
United States and around the world that the early help, that mentoring, that
intervention to help those often-stressed out young moms understand more about
what they can do and avoid the difficulties that stand in the way of their
being able to get their child off to the best start.
"We also have to invest in our students and teachers at every level.
"And in the coming weeks and months, Ifll lay out specific steps to improve
our schools, make college truly affordable, and help Americans refinance their
student debt.
"Letfs embrace the idea of lifelong learning. In an age of technological
change, we need to provide pathways to get skills and credentials for new
occupations, and create online platforms to connect workers to jobs. There are
exciting efforts underway and I want to support and scale the ones that show
results.
"As we pursue all these policies, we canft forget our fellow Americans hit
so hard and left behind by this changing economy — from the inner cities to coal
country to Indian country. Talent is universal — you find it everywhere — but
opportunity is not.
"There are nearly 6 million young people aged 16 to 24 in America today who
are not in school or at work. The numbers for young people of color are
particularly staggering. A quarter of young black men and nearly 15 percent of
all Latino youth cannot find a job.
"Wefve got to do a better way of coming up to match the growing middle class
incomes we want to generate with more pathways into the middle class. I firmly
believe that the best anti-poverty program is a job, but thatfs hard to say if
there are not enough jobs for people that we are trying to help lift themselves
out of poverty.
"Thatfs why Ifve called for reviving the New Markets Tax Credit and
Empowerment Zones to create greater incentives to invest in poor and remote
areas.
"When all Americans have the chance to study hard, work hard, and share in
our countryfs prosperity — thatfs fair growth. Itfs what Ifve always believed
in and itfs what I will fight for as President.
"Now, the third key driver of income alongside strong growth and fair growth
must be long-term growth.
"Too many pressures in our economy today push us toward short-termism. Many
business leaders see this. Theyfve talked to me about. One has called it the
problem of "quarterly capitalism." They say everythingfs focused on the next
earnings report or the short-term share price. The result is too little
attention on the sources of long-term growth: research and development, physical
capital, and talent.
"Net business investment -- which includes things like factories, machines,
and research labs -- has declined as a share of the economy. In recent years,
some of our biggest companies have spent more than half their earnings to buy
back their own stock, and another third or more to pay dividends. That doesnft
leave a lot left to raise pay or invest in the workers who made those profits
possible or to make the new investments necessary to insure a companyfs future
success. These trends need to change. And I believe that many business leaders
are eager to embrace their responsibilities, not just to todayfs share price but
also to workers, communities, and ultimately to our country and indeed our
planet.
"Ifm not talking about charity — Ifm talking about clear-eyed capitalism.
Many companies have prospered by improving wages and training their workers that
then yield higher productivity, better service, and larger profits.
"Now itfs easy to try to cut costs by holding down or decreasing pay and
other investments to inflate quarterly stock prices, but I would argue thatfs
bad for business in the long run.
"And, itfs really bad for our country.
"Workers are assets. Investing in them pays off. Higher wages pay off. And
training pays off.
"To help more companies do that, Ifve proposed a new $1,500 apprenticeship
tax credit for every worker they train and hire.
"And I will soon be proposing a new plan to reform capital gains taxes to
reward longer-term investments that create jobs more than just quick trades.
"I will also propose reforms to help CEOs and shareholders alike focus on the
next decade rather than just the next day. Making sure stock buybacks arenft
being used only for an immediate boost in share prices. Empowering outside
investors who want to build companies but discouraging 'cut and run'
shareholders who act more like old-school corporate raiders. And nowhere will
the shift from short-term to long-term be more important than on Wall
Street.
"As a former Senator from New York, I know first-hand the role that Wall
Street can and should play in our economy — helping Main Street grow and prosper
and boosting new companies that make America more competitive globally.
"But, as we all know, in the years before the crash, financial firms piled
risk upon risk. And regulators in Washington either couldnft or wouldnft keep
up.
"I was alarmed by this gathering storm, and called for addressing the risks
of derivatives, cracking down on subprime mortgages, and improving financial
oversight.
"Under President Obamafs leadership, wefve imposed tough new rules that deal
with some of the challenges on Wall Street. But those rules have been under
assault by Republicans in Congress and those running for President.
"I will fight back against these attacks and protect the reforms wefve made.
We can do that and still ease burdens on community banks to encourage
responsible loans to local people and businesses they know and trust.
"We also have to go beyond Dodd-Frank.
"Too many of our major financial institutions are still too complex and too
risky. And the problems are not limited to the big banks that get all the
headlines. Serious risks are emerging from institutions in the so-called
'shadow banking' system — including hedge funds, high frequency traders,
non-bank finance companies — so many new kinds of entities which receive little
oversight at all.
"Stories of misconduct by individuals and institutions in the financial
industry are shocking. HSBC allowing drug cartels to launder money. Five major
banks pleading guilty to felony charges for conspiring to manipulate currency
exchange and interest rates. There can be no justification or tolerance for this
kind of criminal behavior.
"And while institutions have paid large fines and in some cases admitted
guilt, too often it has seemed that the human beings responsible get off with
limited consequences — or none at all, even when theyfve already pocketed the
gains.
"This is wrong and, on my watch, it will change.
"Over the course of this campaign, I will offer plans to rein in excessive
risks on Wall Street and ensure that stock markets work for everyday investors,
not just high frequency traders and those with the best — or fastest —
connections.
"I will appoint and empower regulators who understand that Too Big To Fail is
still too big a problem.
"Wefll ensure that no firm is too complex to manage or oversee.
"And we will prosecute individuals as well as firms when they commit fraud or
other criminal wrongdoing.
"And when the government recovers money from corporations or individuals for
harming the public, it should go into a separate trust fund to benefit the
public. It, could for example, help modernize infrastructure or even be
returned directly to taxpayers.
"Now reform is never easy. But we have done it before in our country. But we
have to get this right. And we need leadership from the financial industry and
across the private sector to join with us.
"Two years ago, the head of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Terry Duffy,
published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that really caught my attention.
He wrote, and I quote: 'Ifm concerned that those of us in financial services
have forgotten who we serve—and that the public knows itc Some Wall Streeters
can too easily slip into regarding their work as a kind of money-making game
divorced from the concerns of Main Street.'
"I think we should listen to Terry Duffy.
"Of course, long-term growth is only possible if the public sector steps up
as well.
"So itfs time to end the era of budget brinksmanship and stop careening from
one self-inflicted crisis to another. Itfs time to stop having debates over the
small stuff and focus on how wefre going to tackle the big stuff together:
"How do we respond to technological change in a way that creates more good
jobs than it displaces or destroys?
"Can we sustain a boom in advanced manufacturing?
"What are the best ways to nurture start-ups outside the successful corridors
like Silicon Valley?
"Questions like these demand thoughtful and mature debate from our policy
makers in government, from our leaders in the private sector, and our
economists, our academics, and others who can come to the table on behalf of
America and perform their patriotic duty to ensure that our economy keeps
working and our middle class keeps growing.
"So government has to be smarter, simpler, more focused itself on long-term
investments than short-term politics — and be a better partner to cities,
states, and the private sector.
"Washington has to be a better steward of Americaf tax-dollars and Americansf
trust. And please letfs get back to making decisions that rely on evidence more
than ideology.
"Thatfs what Ifll do as President. I will seek out and welcome any good idea
that is actually based on reality. I want to have principled and pragmatic and
progressive policies that really move us forward together and I will propose
ways to ensure that our fiscal outlook is sustainable — including by continuing
to restrain healthcare costs, which remain one of the key drivers of long-term
deficits. I will make sure Washington learns from how well local governments,
business, and non-profits are working together in successful cities and towns
across America.
"You know passing legislation is not the only way to drive progress. As
President, Ifll use the power to convene, connect, and collaborate to build
partnerships that actually get things done.
"Because above all, we have to break out of the poisonous partisan gridlock
and focus on the long-term needs of our country.
"I confess maybe itfs the grandmother in me, but I believe that part of
public service is planting trees under whose shade youfll never sit.
"And the vision Ifve laid our here today — for strong growth, fair growth,
and long term growth, all working together — will get incomes rising again,
will help working families get ahead and stay ahead.
"That is the test of our time. And Ifm inviting everyone to please join me,
to do your part, thatfs what great countries do. Thatfs what our country always
has done. We rise to challenges.
"Itfs not about left, right, or center — itfs about the future versus the
past.
"Ifm running for President to build an America for tomorrow, not
yesterday.
"An America built on growth and fairness.
"An America where if you do your part, you will reap the rewards.
"Where we donft leave anyone out, or anyone behind.
"Thank you all. Thank you. I just want to leave you with one more
thought.
"I want every child, every child in our country, not just the granddaughter
of a former President or a former secretary of state, but every child to have
the chance to live up to his or her God-given potential.
"Please join me in that mission. Letfs do it all together.
Thank you so much."