Ahead of Wednesday’s GOP presidential debate in Colorado, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina is honing her sights on Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton’s claims about the economy.
In a Wall Street Journal piece with the headline “Hillary Clinton Flunks Economics,” Mrs. Fiorina questions Mrs. Clinton’s claim during the first Democratic presidential debate earlier this month that the economy does better with a Democrat in the White House.
“Whose economy is she talking about?” Mrs. Fiorina wrote. “The middle class has shrunk under the Obama administration. According to government figures and industry analyses, median-income households have lost nearly $1,300 after inflation, while the prices of food, health care and college tuition have risen almost twice as fast as inflation.”
Mrs. Fiorina also writes that while “Mrs. Clinton touts her gender to bolster her campaign,” 92 percent of the jobs lost during Mr. Obama’s first term — when Mrs. Clinton was secretary of state — belonged to women.
She also pointed out that unemployment for African-Americans is almost twice as high as the national average, while the achievement gap between black and white students “has stagnated and remains far too wide.”
“But maybe those aren’t the Americans Mrs. Clinton is talking about,” she wrote. “People at the top seem to be doing just fine under the policies she extols.”
Mrs. Fiorina said that under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law, “too big to fail” banks just got bigger and small businesses are being crushed by new rules and regulations.
“Hillary Clinton talks a good game against crony capitalism, large banks and income inequality,” Mrs. Fiorina writes. “She just doesn’t mention that all three have flourished during the Obama years.”
Wednesday’s debate, hosted by CNBC, will largely focus on issues related to the economy. Mrs. Fiorina parlayed a strong performance in August’s “undercard” GOP debate in Cleveland into higher poll numbers and a spot on the main stage in the second debate last month in California and another spot on the main stage at the third debate on Wednesday.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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