Hillary's Socialist Paradise...Again

Democrats' Plan Focuses on Middle Class
Sen. Clinton Presents Domestic Agenda Featuring Tax Breaks and Tuition Help

By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 25, 2006; Page A03

DENVER, July 24 -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) accused Republicans under President Bush of economic mismanagement and favoring the rich here on Monday as she outlined a Democratic campaign agenda of tax breaks and incentives designed to make the costs of health care, college and retirement more affordable for millions of Americans.

The former first lady delivered the keynote address at the centrist Democratic Leadership Council's summer meeting, unveiling the results of the "American Dream Initiative," a year-long effort she led on behalf of the DLC to produce a domestic platform that Democrats can take to voters this fall in their bid to win control of the House and Senate.


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The American Dream Initiative includes proposals that DLC President Bruce Reed said would cost $450 billion to $500 billion over 10 years. He said the cost could be offset by eliminating corporate subsidies in the tax code, cutting out 100,000 unnecessary federal contractors and making a more aggressive effort to identify and collect taxes now going uncollected by the Internal Revenue Service. The initiative also calls for a return to pay-as-you-go budget rules in Washington, which means that all spending on new programs must be offset by cuts elsewhere.

The centerpiece proposal would provide additional support for college costs, with the goal of increasing the number of college graduates by 1 million a year by 2015. The proposal includes $150 billion in block grants for states to ease rising tuition costs and a consolidated tax credit for students. To qualify, states and universities would have to limit tuition increases to the rate of inflation.

Other ideas include requirements for employers to establish retirement accounts for all workers and a refundable tax credit for savers; "baby bonds" that would create a government-funded savings account of $500 for every child born in the United States; a refundable tax credit to help provide the down payment on housing; universal health care for children; and benefits for small businesses to lower the cost of providing health insurance to workers.

Mrs. Bill Clinton is complaining about fiscal discipline while suggesting the above initiative? She must be on drugs. The estimates as to the cost of the proposals she has made are laughable. A closer cost estimate would probably be closer to $2 trillion. When one estimates spending, one must include any anticipated fallout in other segments of the economy. Oh, and not that same old song of "making a more aggressive effort to identify and collect taxes now going uncollected by the Internal Revenue Service." How many times do they think we are going to buy that one?

So now we're going to spend billions of dollars to pay for students to go to college (an entitlement for the education industry), drop $500 into the bank for every child born (another entitlement for unwed and profligate mothers and families), a tax credit to provide a down payment on housing (another entitlement-notice they say "housing" not to buy a house), universal healthcare for children (another entitlement), yes if only the federal government would spend enough money, life would be wonderful for all...as I said, Hillary's socialist paradise.

Heaven forbid if we allowed the free market control the cost of college, rather than having tuition and salaries set by state governments. If student's don't go to a college or university because it is too expensive, then the school will have to alter its expense structure of fail. That's what a free market is all about. It seems as though Democrats are the only ones incapable of comprehending how a free market system works. They remain locked into the failed (proven in country after country) economics of socialism.

There is no evidence that real family incomes have stagnated or even dropped, as the Democrats keep saying. The data suggest exactly the opposite, of course for Democrats, the self-employed don't count. The fact is that the data look really good for a nation just finally recovering from the Clinton Recession.

Full Story: Hillary: Hey Big Spender...

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