In California today, Sen. Hillary Clinton unveils a smorgasboard of spending proposals to ward off a recession.
Clinton would rebate $40M to lower and middle class families, spend $10B to strengthen unemployment insurance, accellerate spending to "jumpstart green collar growth," spend $25B in home heating assistance grants (to shore up LiHEAP) and establish a $30B emergency housing crisis fund. Total cost: $70B. (Alex Conant at the RNC -- did you get that?)
If we accept HRC's prose/poetry dichotomy, where Obama is Byron and she is Hannah Arendt, then as the "prose" candidate, all of her numbers for her big spending proposals ought to add up. So where does the money come from? We'll see...
(Update: Neera Tanden calls to point out that stimulus packages aren't supposed to be revenue neutral and that this expenditure would be for one year only.)
(Update: Alex Conant of the RNC e-mails:
Senator Clinton cannot be trusted to be honest and upfront about her reckless fiscal proposals. Clinton says she wants to ‘put money in people’s hands,’ but her plans require massive tax increases on hardworking families. Clinton’s campaign says that every spending proposal ‘must be paid for,’ but she can’t tell the American people how she will finance nearly $800 billion in new government spending. Hillary Clinton’s misguided rhetoric concerning our economy is not believable or credible.”)
Last December, Edwards, too, would "accelerate" investment in clean energy, spend to ensure that unemployment insurance is available in the wake of massive job layoffs, increase the federal contribution to Medicaid, and create a "Home Rescue Fund."
Speaking of stimulus packages: John Edwards needs one for his campaign, and to that end, campaign manager David Bonior sent an e-mail to the campaign list today selling tee shirts and buttons, A twenty dollar tee shirt, he says, can bring in 40 dollars with of resources.
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Here's the Clinton Road Map:
1) Talk down the economy. Notice how many times she will say, "I think we are slipping into a recession."
2)Revive nostalgia for the 90's economy and strongly imply to lower income voters that the Clintons have a magic wand to bring back economic growth and fiscal responsibilty. The Clintons are going to continue to take credit for the economic progress that resulted more from the end of the cold war and the tech boom than anything Bill Clinton ever did.
3) Put out a stimulus package that appeals strongly to lower income voters
The Obama campaign needs to take this issue very seriously. They have pretty much succeeded in neutralizing the foreign policy/graviats issue. But with increasing economic worries, they have to be out front on this issue and maybe find some ways to draw distinctions. Obama should highlight his lower income tax cuts. The economy an issue in which the Clinton brand has a natural advantage and so Obama's people need to focus like a laser beam on it themselves.
Posted by RKA | January 11, 2008 12:58 PM