Clinton: The money to help Americans pay their bills ‘should come from those who have it’

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2016/01/29/clinton-the-money-to-help-americans-pay-their-bills-should-come-from-those-who-have-it/

(CNSNews.com) – “We have to change the tax system so that it is fairer,” Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday. To her, that means taking more money from the rich and spending it on other people’s college tuition, child care, and paid family leave.

“There are things we can do that will relieve the burdens on middle-class families, and the money should come from those who have it,” Clinton told a gathering in Marshalltown, Iowa, Wednesday.

“I will raise your incomes, I will not raise middle-class taxes,” Clinton promised.

“I do not think it is right — (she was interrupted by applause) — to be going to people who suffered because of the Republican recession and asking for you to help us make the investments for the future. I want you to take advantage of them, but I want to go where the money is, and the money is at the top, and that’s where we need to be shifting our tax system.”

In addition to closing tax “loopholes,” Clinton endorsed the “Buffett rule,” which says anyone who makes $1 million should have to pay a 30 percent effective tax rate.

“And then I want to go further, Clinton said. “I want to impose what I call a fair share surcharge on incomes of $5 million or more. Now, there aren’t very many of those, but there’s a lot of money there because I want to use that money to make college affordable.

“I want to use that money to invest in clean energy. I want to use that money to move toward paid family leave so that families get more support to be able to do their work at home and take care of their families. I want to use that money to help bring down the cost of child care, which in some states is as expensive as college tuition.

“There are things we can do that will relieve the burdens on middle-class families, and the money should come from those who have it.

She continued: “Now, people say to me, ‘Well, how are we ever going to get that done?’ Well, I do have a political strategy. I’ve seen a little bit of this in the last 20-plus years. There are not that many people who make $5 million or more in America, and I think we can make a very clear case.

Mr. Congressman over there (she was addressing State Rep. Mark Smith), are you in favor of clean energy and affordable college? Are you in favor of early childhood education and the way we’re going to get it is to tax the two people in your district who make more than $5 million? Or are you going to deny that to the 350,000 people who live in your district?

“We’re going to make a very tough case about why we have to make the tax code fairer. You know, you can talk about it, but I have a plan to do it. Not just a plan on the substance, but a political plan, because I want you to know what I aim to do for you and what it will cost you. And I want everybody to be able to look at that and make your own judgment.”

— Written by Susan Jones