(This caricature of Hillary Clinton is by the inimitable DonkeyHotey.)A couple of days ago, Hillary Clinton made her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination official. And in her speech, she laid out four broad policy goals she would pursue as president. I post below a part of her speech -- the part where she announces those policy goals.
If you'll give me the chance, I'll wage and win Four Fights for you. The first is to make the economy work for everyday Americans, not just those at the top. To make the middle class mean something again, with rising incomes and broader horizons. And to give the poor a chance to work their way into it. The middle class needs more growth and more fairness. Growth and fairness go together. For lasting prosperity, you can't have one without the other. Is this possible in today's world? I believe it is or I wouldn't be standing here. Do I think it will be easy? Of course not. But, here's the good news: There are allies for change everywhere who know we can't stand by while inequality increases, wages stagnate, and the promise of America dims. We should welcome the support of all Americans who want to go forward together with us. There are public officials who know Americans need a better deal. Business leaders who want higher pay for employees, equal pay for women and no discrimination against the LGBT community either. There are leaders of finance who want less short-term trading and more long-term investing. There are union leaders who are investing their own pension funds in putting people to work to build tomorrow's economy. We need everyone to come to the table and work with us. In the coming weeks, I'll propose specific policies to: Reward businesses who invest in long term value rather than the quick buck -- because that leads to higher growth for the economy, higher wages for workers, and yes, bigger profits, everybody will have a better time. I will rewrite the tax code so it rewards hard work and investments here at home, not quick trades or stashing profits overseas. I will give new incentives to companies that give their employees a fair share of the profits their hard work earns. We will unleash a new generation of entrepreneurs and small business owners by providing tax relief, cutting red tape, and making it easier to get a small business loan. We will restore America to the cutting edge of innovation, science, and research by increasing both public and private investments. And we will make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century. Developing renewable power -- wind, solar, advanced biofuels... Building cleaner power plants, smarter electric grids, greener buildings... Using additional fees and royalties from fossil fuel extraction to protect the environment... And ease the transition for distressed communities to a more diverse and sustainable economic future from coal country to Indian country, from small towns in the Mississippi Delta to the Rio Grande Valley to our inner cities, we have to help our fellow Americans. Now, this will create millions of jobs and countless new businesses, and enable America to lead the global fight against climate change. We will also connect workers to their jobs and businesses. Customers will have a better chance to actually get where they need and get what they desire with roads, railways, bridges, airports, ports, and broadband brought up to global standards for the 21st century. We will establish an infrastructure bank and sell bonds to pay for some of these improvements. Now, building an economy for tomorrow also requires investing in our most important asset, our people, beginning with our youngest. That's why I will propose that we make preschool and quality childcare available to every child in America. And I want you to remember this, because to me, this is absolutely the most-compelling argument why we should do this. Research tells us how much early learning in the first five years of life can impact lifelong success. In fact, 80 percent of the brain is developed by age three. One thing I've learned is that talent is universal -- you can find it anywhere -- but opportunity is not. Too many of our kids never have the chance to learn and thrive as they should and as we need them to. Our country won't be competitive or fair if we don't help more families give their kids the best possible start in life. So let's staff our primary and secondary schools with teachers who are second to none in the world, and receive the respect they deserve for sparking the love of learning in every child. Let's make college affordable and available to all ...and lift the crushing burden of student debt. Let's provide lifelong learning for workers to gain or improve skills the economy requires, setting up many more Americans for success. Now, the second fight is to strengthen America's families, because when our families are strong, America is strong. And today's families face new and unique pressures. Parents need more support and flexibility to do their job at work and at home. I believe you should have the right to earn paid sick days. I believe you should receive your work schedule with enough notice to arrange childcare or take college courses to get ahead. I believe you should look forward to retirement with confidence, not anxiety. That you should have the peace of mind that your health care will be there when you need it, without breaking the bank. I believe we should offer paid family leave so no one has to choose between keeping a paycheck and caring for a new baby or a sick relative. And it is way past time to end the outrage of so many women still earning less than men on the job -- and women of color often making even less. This isn't a women's issue. It's a family issue. Just like raising the minimum wage is a family issue. Expanding childcare is a family issue. Declining marriage rates is a family issue. The unequal rates of incarceration is a family issue. Helping more people with an addiction or a mental health problem get help is a family issue. In America, every family should feel like they belong. So we should offer hard-working, law-abiding immigrant families a path to citizenship. Not second-class status. And, we should ban discrimination against LGBT Americans and their families so they can live, learn, marry, and work just like everybody else. You know, America's diversity, our openness, our devotion to human rights and freedom is what's drawn so many to our shores. What's inspired people all over the world. I know. I've seen it with my own eyes. And these are also qualities that prepare us well for the demands of a world that is more interconnected than ever before. So we have a third fight: to harness all of America's power, smarts, and values to maintain our leadership for peace, security, and prosperity. No other country on Earth is better positioned to thrive in the 21st century. No other country is better equipped to meet traditional threats from countries like Russia, North Korea, and Iran -- and to deal with the rise of new powers like China. No other country is better prepared to meet emerging threats from cyber attacks, transnational terror networks like ISIS, and diseases that spread across oceans and continents. As your President, I'll do whatever it takes to keep Americans safe. And if you look over my left shoulder you can see the new World Trade Center soaring skyward. As a Senator from New York, I dedicated myself to getting our city and state the help we needed to recover. And as a member of the Armed Services Committee, I worked to maintain the best-trained, best-equipped, strongest military, ready for today's threats and tomorrow's. And when our brave men and women come home from war or finish their service, I'll see to it that they get not just the thanks of a grateful nation, but the care and benefits they've earned. I've stood up to adversaries like Putin and reinforced allies like Israel. I was in the Situation Room on the day we got bin Laden. But, I know -- I know we have to be smart as well as strong. Meeting today's global challenges requires every element of America's power, including skillful diplomacy, economic influence, and building partnerships to improve lives around the world with people, not just their governments. There are a lot of trouble spots in the world, but there's a lot of good news out there too. I believe the future holds far more opportunities than threats if we exercise creative and confident leadership that enables us to shape global events rather than be shaped by them. And we all know that in order to be strong in the world, though, we first have to be strong at home. That's why we have to win the fourth fight -- reforming our government and revitalizing our democracy so that it works for everyday Americans. We have to stop the endless flow of secret, unaccountable money that is distorting our elections, corrupting our political process, and drowning out the voices of our people. We need Justices on the Supreme Court who will protect every citizen's right to vote, rather than every corporation's right to buy elections. If necessary, I will support a constitutional amendment to undo the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United. I want to make it easier for every citizen to vote. That's why I've proposed universal, automatic registration and expanded early voting. I'll fight back against Republican efforts to disempower and disenfranchise young people, poor people, people with disabilities, and people of color. What part of democracy are they afraid of? No matter how easy we make it to vote, we still have to give Americans something worth voting for. Government is never going to have all the answers -- but it has to be smarter, simpler, more efficient, and a better partner. That means access to advanced technology so government agencies can more effectively serve their customers, the American people. We need expertise and innovation from the private sector to help cut waste and streamline services. There's so much that works in America. For every problem we face, someone somewhere in America is solving it. Silicon Valley cracked the code on sharing and scaling a while ago. Many states are pioneering new ways to deliver services. I want to help Washington catch up. To do that, we need a political system that produces results by solving problems that hold us back, not one overwhelmed by extreme partisanship and inflexibility. Now, I'll always seek common ground with friend and opponent alike. But I'll also stand my ground when I must. That's something I did as Senator and Secretary of State -- whether it was working with Republicans to expand health care for children and for our National Guard, or improve our foster care and adoption system, or pass a treaty to reduce the number of Russian nuclear warheads that could threaten our cities -- and it's something I will always do as your President. We Americans may differ, bicker, stumble, and fall; but we are at our best when we pick each other up, when we have each other's back. Like any family, our American family is strongest when we cherish what we have in common, and fight back against those who would drive us apart. People all over the world have asked me: "How could you and President Obama work together after you fought so hard against each other in that long campaign?" Now, that is an understandable question considering that in many places, if you lose an election you could get imprisoned or exiled -- even killed -- not hired as Secretary of State. But President Obama asked me to serve, and I accepted because we both love our country. That's how we do it in America. With that same spirit, together, we can win these four fights. We can build an economy where hard work is rewarded. We can strengthen our families. We can defend our country and increase our opportunities all over the world. And we can renew the promise of our democracy.
