Contrary to Phil Gramm’s delusional assessment, this is not a “mental
recession.” Nor are our economic challenges “psychological,”
as John McCain has asserted. Could
a candidate be more clueless?
Gramm decried the “constant whining” of the American people when
it comes to the economy because he believes “we’ve never been
more dominant”:“We have sort of become a nation of whiners,” he said. “You
just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness,
America in decline” despite a major export boom that is the primary
reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.“We’ve never been more dominant; we’ve never had more
natural advantages than we have today,” he said. “We have benefited
greatly” from the globalization of the economy in the last 30 years.
On a conference call today Obama’s team began laying out their economic
plan for women. Needless to say, this is one of the most important subjects
a candidate can have, especially a Democrat, since we make up a majority of
the Democratic Party. Leading the call was Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and
Heidi Hartmann, President of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, who
is currently on leave from that position.
A podcast of the call, which I recorded in full, is offered below for everyone.
The opening remarks of Klobuchar and Hartmann are worth a listen, but the first
question from reporters was Clinton specific, which you’ll find very interesting,
with Clinton’s economic ideas referred to more than once. However, the conversation
about women’s reality in work today compared to men was inspiring, because marriage
isn’t the answer, as many women already know. It was a tremendously important
discussion with Klobuchar and Hartmann, focusing on leveling the playing field
for women on economics.
PODCAST: Conference call on Obama’s
Economic Plan for Women
Michelle Obama also had a round table on the subject in Kansas City, Missouri.
Senator Obama’s report “The Impact of the Obama Economic Plan for
America’s Working Women” is now available
for those interested in reading it (pdf). Some highlights include
a tax cut for working women that goes from $500 – $1,000. More is below:
Barack Obama believes that our government’s policies must change to
meet the new challenges facing America’s working women. His economic
plan is designed to give working women the opportunity to not just get by,
but to get ahead in our economy – to build a nest egg, save for retirement,
start a business and provide a better life for their children. This report
details the impact of ten key Obama economic policies on working women nationwide
and across the 50 states. In summary, the Obama plan will:1. Provide a New “Making Work Pay” Tax Cut of Up to $500 per
Person, or $1000 Per Family, to 71 Million Working Women.
2. Give 8.4 Million Working Women a Raise of up to $4,700 per year, by Increasing
the Minimum Wage to $9.50 by 2011.
3. Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to Benefit at Least 5 Million
Working Women and Help Ensure That Low-Wage Working Parents Are Not Forced
to Raise Their Children in Poverty.
4. Extend Child Care Tax Breaks to 7.5 Million Additional Working Women. A
working mother with two kids earning $50,000 a year will receive a $2,100
child care tax cut under the Obama plan.
5. Provide High-Quality Afterschool and Summer Learning Programs to An Additional
2 Million Children. The Obama plan will expand afterschool programs to serve
an additional 1 million students and summer learning programs for 1 million
students.
6. Provide 7 Days of Paid Sick Leave to 22 Million Working Women.
7. Fight to Close the Gender Wage Gap that Has Women Earning 77 Cents for
Every Dollar Earned By Men. This gap is even more pronounced for African American
and Latina women.
8. Increase Retirement Savings Opportunities for the 45 Million Working Women
Who Lack an Employer Retirement Account, by providing them with a new Automatic
Workplace Pension and
providing a $500 matching tax credit for their savings.
9. Help 8.7 million women business owners grow their businesses and create
jobs, by setting capital gains rates to zero for small business and entrepreneurial
ventures.
10. Offer quality affordable health care to the 21.5 million women who lack
health insurance.
There is much more in the
full outline.
Barack Obama is offering answers for working women, something so important
to our economic health and security its importance cannot be overestimated.
In contrast, John McCain has no answers for women. On equal pay alone, John
McCain fails in a way that women cannot afford, nor can their families. He just
doesn’t get it. McCain’s voted against equal pay for women twice, also saying
they don’t need more money but more training. The last time he skipped out on
the vote. Got priorities? It isn’t women’s economic issues.
“Mental recession”?
“Whining”?
“Psychological”?
McCain is clueless on women’s economic issues.
Obama’s proposed $50 billion stimulus alone will offer middle class families
real help during this Republican downturn. Anyone who supported Hillary can
certainly appreciate what Obama is offering. Hillary supporters willing to be
fair to Obama on this issue will find that he’s the only choice in November.
When compared to McCain there’s just no contest.
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