OPINION:
Hillary Clinton promises $1.3 trillion in new taxes, slower economic growth, job losses and continued wage stagnation, according to multiple analyses of her proposed economic policies.
Her campaign has pointed to her record as New York senator as a successful blueprint of what her economic revival would look like — the only problem is, there wasn’t one. The state lost 24 percent of its upstate manufacturing jobs under her tenure.
Mrs. Clinton policy’s proposals — which include 12-week paid family leave, free community college tuition and universal preschool, among others — will cost $3.5 trillion over a 10-year period, according to a report from the American Action Forum, a center-right policy institute.
To help pay for the policies, Mrs. Clinton has proposed increasing taxes by $1.3 trillion, however, even with the tax hikes, there’s still a combined deficit on the economy of $2.2 trillion, the report notes.
Mrs. Clinton’s tax plan would raise taxes on the rich and on businesses, and therefore be a drag on the economy, the Tax Foundation estimates. According to the Tax Foundation’s Taxes and Growth Model, the plan would reduce GDP by 1 percent over the long-term due to slightly higher marginal tax rates on capital and labor.
Note: U.S. economic growth sputtered this spring, growing less than forecast, near zero. The Wall Street Journal said America is in the slowest economic recovery since at least 1949. GDP growth is crucial for job recovery, wage growth and business investment.
Over the long run, Mrs. Clinton’s tax policy will actually cost Americans jobs, the Tax Foundation estimates. A reduction in GDP would translate into 0.8 percent lower wages and 311,000 fewer full-time equivalent jobs.
But let’s get off the forecasts and on her actual record, where as a senator she promised upstate New York 200,000 new jobs if elected. Needless to say, she didn’t come close.
“The former first lady was unable to pass the big-ticket legislation she introduced to benefit the region’s economy,” The Washington Post said. “She turned to smaller-scale projects, but some of those fell flat after initial glowing headlines, a Washington Post review shows. Many promised jobs never materialized, and others migrated to other states as she turned to her first presidential run, said former officials who worked with her in New York.”
According to the Public Policy Institute in Albany, upstate New York actually lost 31,000 payroll jobs between October 2001 and December 2006, during her first term. During her overall Senate tenure, according to the Institute, The Post reports, upstate jobs rose a mere 0.2 percent overall, but manufacturing jobs fell 24 percent.
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