Democratic Party on Budget & Economy

	Democratic Party on Budget & Economy Party Platform

Create infrastructure bank to fund projects

Democrats support the creation of an infrastructure bank that will leverage public and private resources to build infrastructure projects of national or regional significance, including in rail and transit, clean energy and water infrastructure, broadband, and affordable housing. Projects will be required to follow Buy America and Buy Clean provisions, pay Davis-Bacon prevailing wages, utilize project labor agreements, and ensure employers remain neutral in workers' organizing efforts. Source: Democratic Party Platform adopted at 2020 Convention , Jul 27, 2020

AdWatch: Trump takes no responsibility for coronavirus panic

[One-minute TV ad, "Failed to Act," playing in PA/MI/WI; second half]:

Trump: "The country's in great shape; the market's in great shape"

Text: L.A. Times: Investors Panic Over Stock Market Free-Fall"; DJI -7.77%

NBC News headline: "Dr. Fauci on Virus Testing: 'It Is a Failing'."

Text: Mar.3: 359 cases; more than 20 deaths

Trump: "No, I don't take responsibility at all."

Text: Mar.16: 4,019 cases

Reporter: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate your response to this crisis?"

Trump: "I'd rate it a 10; I think we've done a great job."

Washington Post headline: Squandered Time: Trump Lost Control of Coronavirus

Text: Spinner exceeds 5,000 then 6,000 then 7,000 cases

CNN headline, Mar.14: "NIH's Dr. Fauci: It's Going to Get Worse; Possible Millions Could Die"

Voiceover: And now, here we are. Trump canot be trusted, with our economy, our health, and our future

Text: Paid for by AB PAC, www.AmericanBridgePAC.org

Source: American Bridge AdWatch on 2020 presidential hopefuls , Mar 21, 2020

Create an economy built to last & built from the middle out

We gather to reclaim the basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on Earth--the simple principle that in America, hard work should pay off, responsibility should be rewarded, and each one of us should be able to go as far as our talent and drive take us.

This election is not simply a choice between two candidates or two political parties, but between two fundamentally different paths for our country and our families.

We Democrats offer America the opportunity to move our country forward by creating an economy built to last and built from the middle out. Mitt Romney and the Republican Party have a drastically different vision. They still believe the best way to grow the economy is from the top down--the same approach that benefited the wealthy few but crashed the economy and crushed the middle class.

It is not enough to go back to where the country was before the crisis. We must rebuild a strong foundation that ensures it never happens again.

Source: 2012 Democratic Party Platform , Sep 4, 2012

OpEd: Republicans want to cut benefits to kids

The Republicans, driven by the new members of the Tea Party, wanted to cut $61 billion from the budget, while the Democrats were willing to cut only about 1/6 of that amount. Both Democrats and Republicans have strayed so far from the path of responsible financial policy that the concept of balancing the budget is foreign to them. I believe many of them simply cannot grasp the concept of only spending what you have. I do understand that making budgetary cuts will be painful, but it will not be nearly as painful as going bankrupt!

Knowing how Washington works, I can already predict that our Democratic president and the rest of the Democratic Party will claim that the Republicans want to cut programs that benefit children, the elderly, and the infirm and that they want to stifle medical research and programs that will create economic growth. The Republicans will claim that the Democrats are addicted to spending and couldn't stop if their lives depended on it.

Source: America the Beautiful, by Ben Carson, p.108-109 , Jan 24, 2012

Restore the budget discipline of the 1990s

We believe in balanced budgets and paying down our national debt, while Republicans continue to put huge burdens on future generations by borrowing hundreds of billions of dollars from foreign nations. We want to restore the budget discipline of the 1990s that helped eliminate deficits and spur record economic growth. Source: 2006 Democratic Party Congressional Promise , Nov 1, 2006

Cut the deficit in half over the next four years

We will roll back the Bush tax cuts for those making more than $200,000. We will restore commonsense budget rules that this Administration has abandoned, like “Pay-As-You-Go” rules that require the government to pay for new initiatives. We will commit to living within tough budget caps-real and enforceable limits on what the government can spend. We are committed to cutting the deficit in half over the next four years. Source: The Democratic Platform for America, p.25 , Jul 10, 2004

Democrats reversed economic stagnation of previous years

Under Bush-Quayle, the economy was floundering. Bill Clinton and Al Gore were elected to turn it around. They knew the private sector is the engine of economic growth, but they also knew that government can make a difference. After a generation of stagnation, America has the lowest unemployment and fastest economic growth in more than 30 years. We have the lowest inflation rate in decades. More Americans own their home than ever before. Source: 2000 Democratic National Platform as adopted by the DNC , Aug 15, 2000

Democrats must continue to lead Americans to prosperity

We must continue the fiscal discipline that has been the hallmark of the past 8 years-paying down the debt & offering the right kind of tax cuts.
We must use our prosperity to secure Social Security and Medicare.
We must invest in the American people & their ability to innovate.
We must continue to reinvent government so that it works better and costs less.
We must open new markets to American products.
We must reinforce the basic American bargain of rewarding hard work.

Source: 2000 Democratic National Platform as adopted by the DNC , Aug 15, 2000

G.O.P. creates debt, Dems create surpluses

Republicans talked about fiscal discipline while they quadrupled the debt. In 1992, Democrats promised to cut the deficit in half in four years. America has gone from the biggest deficits in history to the biggest surpluses in history. We must not go back. In 12 years of rule, Republicans quadrupled the national debt. Source: 2000 Democratic National Platform as adopted by the DNC , Aug 15, 2000

Democrats will eliminate publicly held debt by 2012

Because of the Clinton-Gore Administration, a debt-free America is within reach. This would free businesses to invest and innovate, it would provide an ever more sturdy foundation for future economic growth, and it would create good jobs. That’s why Al Gore is determined to completely eliminate the publicly-held national debt by the year 2012. Source: 2000 Democratic National Platform as adopted by the DNC , Aug 15, 2000

Policy should encourage home ownership & affordable housing

We have long defended the mortgage interest deduction and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. We need to create a continuum of care for homeless people so that they get help in getting themselves off the streets. We must ensure that housing costs in thriving communities do not outpace the income of middle class families. We must expand the supply of life cycle housing. We must encourage the construction of affordable housing closer to places of work and to mass transit. Source: 2000 Democratic National Platform as adopted by the DNC , Aug 15, 2000

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Page last updated: Feb 24, 2022