Today, Hillary Clinton laid out a comprehensive, principled and progressive agenda for the nation’s economy. Clinton spotlighted the fact that American workers are more productive than ever—and that corporate profits are at record highs—but that too many workers struggle with stagnant wages and uneven access to economic opportunity. Despite the central economic argument made by Republicans for decades, prosperity truly hasn’t trickled down to everyday Americans and their families.
The American people don’t need to hear speeches from the Republican candidates to know where they stand. The GOP has been hashing and re-hashing the same tired economic leftovers for decades, and the contrast with Clinton’s bold agenda couldn’t be starker.
Hillary vs. the GOP on Reigning in Wall Street:
Hillary says: “I will offer plans to rein in excessive risk on Wall Street and ensure that stock markets work for everyday investors. […] Too Big To Fail is still too big a problem.”
The GOP?
- Jeb Bush—at a moment when the stock market was approaching record highs—declared that Dodd-Frank was “stifling investment.”
- Ted Cruz called for Dodd-Frank to be repealed, calling it a law of “massive complexity.”
- Rand Paul has repeatedly demanded that consumer-minded banking regulations be halted or repealed, calling it, at one point, his “biggest concern.”
- Scott Walker: “ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ”
Hillary vs. the GOP on a Tax System and Safety Net that Treats Everyone Fairly:
Hillary says: “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 Rubio’s 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, that’s a sure budget-busting giveaway to the super-wealthy, and that’s the kind of bad economics you’re likely to hear from any of the candidates on the other side.”
The GOP?
- In addition to his regressive tax plan, Marco Rubio has argued that Social Security and Medicare have “weakened us as a people.”
- Lindsey Graham said it was “stupid” to allow tax cuts for the wealthy to expire.
- John Kasich pushed a tax plan that a Republican lawmaker described as a “regressive” proposal that raised “taxes on the poor and middle class.”
- Jeb Bush supported his brother’s plan to privatize Social Security.
- Scott Walker slashed $56.2 million from the Earned Income Tax Credit over two years.
Hillary vs. the GOP on Rewarding Work Fairly:
Hillary says: “You may have heard Governor Bush say last week that Americans just need to work longer hours. He must not have met very many American workers. […] Let him tell that to the fast food workers marching in the streets for better pay. They don’t need a lecture—they need a raise.”
The GOP?
- Jeb Bush called for an end to the federal minimum wage. Rather than giver workers a raise, Jeb wants employees to simply “work longer hours” in order to get by.
- Scott Walker declared that raising the minimum wage is a “political grandstanding stunt.”
- Chris Christie said he was “tired of hearing about the minimum wage.”
- Ben Carson rejected the notion that “we can make significant progress in eliminating poverty by raising the minimum wage.”
- Rand Paul is strongly opposed increasing the federal minimum wage, declaring, “[m]inimum wage is […] harmful when it’s above the market wage.”
- Marco Rubio opposed a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to 9 dollars per hour, arguing, “I don’t think a minimum wage law works.”
Hillary vs. the GOP on an Economy Where Prosperity is Shared and All Workers are Welcome:
Hillary says: “Another engine of strong growth should be comprehensive immigration reform. […] It’s 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. […] If we want to get serious about raising incomes, we have to get serious about supporting union workers.”
The GOP?
- Ted Cruz said he “salutes” Donald Trump after Trump suggested most undocumented immigrants are “killers” and “rapists.”
- Rick Santorum has falsely claimed that immigration is suppressing wages for American workers, calling immigration reform “amnesty.”
- Carly Fiorina has passed the buck on immigration reform, saying, “you don’t need comprehensive immigration reform to secure the border.”
- Jeb Bush: “What’s the Paycheck Fairness Act?”
- Rand Paul compared paycheck fairness legislation to a Soviet dictatorship, saying, “the minute you set up a fairness czar to determine what wages are, you give away freedom.”
- Marco Rubio called fair pay legislation a “welfare plan for trial lawyers.”
- Scott Walker signed some of the nation’s most sweeping anti-union legislation, declaring “if I can take on 100,000 [pro-union] protestors, I can do the same across the world.”
- Mike Huckabee campaigned in favor of a failed initiative to strip Ohio’s public employees of their collective bargaining rights.