issues2000

More headlines: Hillary Clinton on Budget & Economy

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Government action to tackle recession, not tax cuts

Q: Why would you be better fit than the Republican nominee to turn this economy around as we seem to be headed for a downturn, if not a recession?

A: Well, it is the case that the economy is becoming a greater and greater concern because, obviously, it’s not working for the vast majority of Americans. I’ve been out there since March talking about this mortgage crisis and urging much more aggressive action to stem the foreclosures that are beginning to cascade around the country. But at some point you’ve got to have government action to really tackle these problems. The stimulus package is a start, but it’s not nearly enough. What we have to do is have an economic policy that once again creates jobs with rising incomes. Obviously, I disagree with the Republicans about the tax cuts for people making more than $250,000 a year. I think we should let those expire and use that money on universal health care and other needs that people have that are really directly related to the state of the economy.

Source: 2008 Fox News interview: “Choosing the President” series Feb 3, 2008

We need immediate relief for home heating & housing crisis

While I was heartened to hear the President acknowledge the need for immediate actions to jumpstart our economy, it will take more than tax rebates to fix our economic crisis and rebuild our economy for the future. We need immediate relief for people who are losing their jobs and facing skyrocketing home heating costs. And we need a comprehensive solution to the housing crisis. Every housing proposal the President made tonight, I made several months--and hundreds of thousands of foreclosure notices--ago. For example, I have proposed to enable the Federal Housing Administration to function as an alternative to the subprime market; and I have proposed to empower state housing finance agencies to help families refinance unworkable mortgages. But more is needed. So I have also called on the mortgage industry to observe a 90-day foreclosure moratorium on subprime mortgages and a 5-year freeze in rates on subprime loans.
Source: Response to 2008 State of the Union address Jan 28, 2008

No evidence as to how Obama would pay for new programs

CLINTON: Obama has said that he really liked the ideas of the Republicans over the last 10 to 15 years, and we can give you the exact quote. They were bad ideas for America. They were ideas like privatizing Social Security, like moving back from a balanced budget and a surplus to deficit and debt. Obama have a lot of money that you want to put into foreign aid, a very worthy program. There is no evidence as to how you would pay for it. It’s important because elections are about the future.

OBAMA I did not compliment Republican ideas. That is not true. What I said was is that Reagan was a transformative political figure because he was able to get Democrats to vote against their economic interests to form a majority to push through their agenda, an agenda that I objected to. While I was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, Clinton was a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart. What I said had nothing to do with their policies.

Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate Jan 21, 2008

Foreclosure moratorium mitigates agony; doesn’t prolong it

Q: Does your plan prolong the subprime agony?

A: No. I think it helps to mitigate the agony. What I hear as I go in and out of people’s homes and talk to so many who have already lost their homes, they’re in foreclosure, they see these interest rates that are about to go up and they know they can’t pay them, is that we take action now. I’ve been calling for action since last March. When I first started calling for it, a lot of the same economists who now say don’t do anything about it said, it won’t be that bad. The mortgage crisis is not only destroying home ownership, it is having a ripple effect across the world. So my moratorium for 90 days is a work-out. It’s not a bailout. I want people to be able to see whether they can stay in their homes paying a rate that is affordable for them. The interest rate freeze is merited. If you’re a homeowner who has been at the bottom of this incredible scheme that was established, you’re left holding the bag and you don’t have the house anymore.

Source: 2008 Congressional Black Caucus Democratic debate Jan 21, 2008

90-day moratorium on foreclosures; freeze interest rates

A lot of our big financial institutions made these bets on these subprime mortgages. They helped to create this meltdown that is happening, that is costing millions of people who live in homes that are being foreclosed on or could be in the very near future because the interest rates are going up. And what they did was to take all these subprime mortgages and conventional mortgages, bundle them up and sell them overseas to big investors. So we’re getting the worst of both worlds.

This administration can’t figure out what we should do. I have a plan: a moratorium on foreclosures for 90 days, freezing interest rates for five years, which I think we should do immediately. What we now see is our financial institutions having to go hat in hand to borrow money from foreign government funds. I’m very concerned about it. I’d like to see us move much more aggressively both to deal with the immediate problem with the mortgages and to deal with these foreign funds.

Source: 2008 Democratic debate in Las Vegas Jan 15, 2008

Call for a moratorium on housing foreclosures for 90 days

We need urgently to have bankruptcy reform in order to get the kind of options available for homeowners. In addition to what I want to do, which is the moratorium on foreclosures for 90 days to see what we can do to work them out, and freezing interest rates for five years, and making the mortgage industry more transparent so we actually know what they’re doing. Countrywide gets bought and the CEO, who was one of the architects of this whole subprime mess, is sent off with $110 million in severance pay The priorities and the values are absolutely wrong. So what we’ve got to do is move urgently. In addition to what I’ve proposed, we’ve got to reform the bankruptcy law right now going forward so that people who are caught in these subprime and now increasingly conventional loans that they can’t pay because of the way the interest rates are going up, and many of the fraudulent and predatory practices that got people into them in the first place, will have the option of getting relieved of this debt
Source: 2008 Democratic debate in Las Vegas Jan 15, 2008

Freeze mortgage interest rates for five years

Q: How do you pay for stimulus to the economy?

A: This stimulus shouldn’t be paid for. The whole point of stimulus is going to require an injection of federal funding. And I would start with the mortgage crisis. I want to have a moratorium on foreclosures for 90 days so we can try to work them out. I want to freeze interest rates for five years, and I want to have a $30 billion package that will go in and try to stabilize the housing market and stabilize communities that are going to be affected by that.

Q: But many people could’ve had a fixed mortgage at a higher rate, but they opted for a cheaper one. Should they not bear some responsibility?

A: The bankers, the mortgage lenders, the brokers, all bear a lot of the responsibility, because many of the practices that were followed were just downright predatory and fraudulent. There is no doubt about that. A lot of people got into subprime loans who frankly could’ve been in a conventional fixed-rate loan.

Source: Meet the Press: 2008 “Meet the Candidates” series Jan 13, 2008

Help people facing foreclosure; don’t just bail-out banks

Q: We’ve seen all this turmoil in the markets caused by the credit crunch and the crisis in the mortgage markets. The Federal Reserve lowered the discount rate for banks. Should they lower rates for everyone else, yes or no?

A: I’m glad they did what they did. But it can’t be just left to a bail-out for the banks. We’ve got to figure out how we’re going to [help] people facing foreclosures. And I have recommendations on that, that do not lend themselves to an easy yes or no.

Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate on “This Week” Aug 19, 2007

Last six years were challenging; let’s try a new direction

Q: How would you work to reinvigorate this region’s economy?

CLINTON: Six years ago, we didn’t yet have a recession. We didn’t have the 9/11 attack. We didn’t have high deficits. We didn’t have the Bush policies. Thankfully we escaped a plague of locusts, but we’ve had some challenges in the last 6 years. So I’m not discouraged I’m just changing direction, trying to work in different ways to help people right here at home create these opportunities for themselves.

SPENCER: Well, if we did have a plague of locusts, you know who’s fault it would be, right? George Bush. He’s responsible for everything. When are you responsible, Sen. Clinton? When are you responsible, after 6 years? You pledged 200,000 jobs. If you’re not responsible, then you’re ineffective. You’re ineffective as a United States Senator from New York.

Source: NY 2006 Senate Debate, at University of Rochester Oct 20, 2006

Stimulate upstate economy by more local decision-making

Q: Will you support measures that would be unpopular with state unions if they helped reduce the tax burden on upstate New York?

CLINTON: I’m a very strong supporter of these changes that are needed to stimulate the upstate economy. And many of those changes can only take place at the state and local level. Because what I have laid forth in my economic plan for upstate is a way to use tax credits to stimulate business, to expand the high tech industry that is coming to Buffalo.

LAZIO: I do believe that the upstate economy has turned the corner. It also needs new partnerships, alliances, something I’ve been doing down in Long Island. Creating technology incubators, building on our assets in the upstate economy. Making sure that we build good partnerships and a first-class educational system. One of the things you can do is to begin to address the issue of taxation. We need to make sure that people don’t pay taxes on top of income that they’ve already paid taxes on.

Source: Clinton-Lazio debate, Buffalo NY Sep 13, 2000

Supports Niagara casino, but prefers job creation strategy

Q: Americans spend millions at the local casino in Niagara Falls, Canada. Why not have a casino built on this side of the border to help our economy?

LAZIO: I don’t believe that it’s a good idea for us to be building casinos. I would allow the state of New York to make these decisions. But in the end, I’m not a big fan of gambling. Economic development in the area is an important issue, but I would not focus on the quick hit, the cheap hit in gambling. I’d focus on the kind of jobs where our children can afford to stay here, raise a family, buy their own home.

CLINTON: I know how hard the people in Niagara are working to try to turn their economy around, and if they believe that a casino would help attract more tourists back, I would support that. I leave that to their judgment. But there has to be more of a strategy about the upstate economy --tax credits to help jobs be created, creating the regional skills, alliances, commitment to work force development, etc.

Source: Clinton-Lazio debate, Buffalo NY Sep 13, 2000

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Page last updated: Jan 01, 2022