Hillary Clinton has 31 policy groups on her campaign’s “Issues” page, which outline her policy goals as president.
And, guess what, they’re great!
She is better helped, as a candidate, by improving her positives than increasing Trump’s negatives (he does that well enough on his own).
So why not highlight those positives, night after night, and promote a better sense of the progressive and popular choice that she is? It’s easy enough to do, she’s a great candidate with generally great positions on the issues Americans care about.
For the first double-digit night (#10!) of this series, we’ll look into Hillary Clinton’s platform on American manufacturing. American manufacturing is currently healthy in terms of output, but for the ranks of American labor our productivity gains have too often not been accompanied by gains in wages and benefits.
Strengthening our labor laws — to include laws that protect and encourage organizing for better conditions and pay — must be a priority of the next president if we want to reduce income inequality and properly compensate working class families. Additionally, areas of this country that have been smashed up by outsourcing need special attention to revive and restore existing communities with skills to offer and a desire to work together to make American better. Laws that even the playing field of existing trade agreements, and regulatory enforcement to make sure that whatever positives they promised are actually realized — this will ensure that American manufacturing is on a sound footing in the international market. And all of this can, of course, be done in concert with ensuring that laborers overseas are not exploited or harmed in the production of goods.
Whether it’s the “jobs of tomorrow” that will expand the American middle class, or the “jobs of today” that people still have and rely on, Hillary Clinton — endorsed by the AFL-CIO, UAW, USW, and more — has a platform that will protect American manufacturing and provide a boost where it’s needed.
Hillary believes that creating good-paying jobs is the defining economic challenge of our time, and she has a plan to make America the first choice for manufacturing production worldwide. Hillary will:
-
Strengthen investment in American manufacturing—so we make it in America. Hillary’s plan will build and expand upon President Obama’s support for a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation—to leverage the potential of regional hubs that bring together workers, business, universities, and community colleges to develop world-leading technologies and production that anchors good-paying jobs. And she will insist on ensuring union collective bargaining rights and labor protections, as well as high standards for domestic sourcing and “buy American” laws.
-
Revitalize the hardest-hit manufacturing communities by creating tax incentives to encourage investment in communities that have faced or are about to face significant manufacturing job losses.
-
Create incentives for companies to bring back jobs to the U.S. by making America the most attractive location for investment—and crack down on shifting earnings overseas.
-
Level the global playing field for American workers and manufacturers by aggressively combating trade violations. Establish and empower a new chief trade prosecutor reporting directly to the president, triple the number of trade enforcement officers, stand up to Chinese abuses, and crack down on currency manipulation that hurts American workers.
-
Drive innovation and create jobs by investing in clean energy. Hillary will set ambitious national goals, including to generate enough renewable electricity to power every home in America within 10 years and slash oil consumption by one-third, driving innovation and job creation across the economy while keeping energy affordable.
-
Support the skills and training of America’s workforce. America has the potential to win the global competition for manufacturing jobs by harnessing the incredible talent and skills of its workforce.
[...]
As a senator, Hillary co-founded the bipartisan Senate Manufacturing Caucus, fought Bush Administration efforts to cut support for manufacturing, and called for a “New Manhattan Project” to rebuild American manufacturing. Her plan builds on her career-long commitment to manufacturing, as well as on her previous proposals to invest in renewable energy and rebuild America’s infrastructure—two major investments that will drive demand for manufacturing across the country and strengthen our long-run competitiveness.
Manufacturing is critical to the U.S. economy. It is responsible for high-paying, high-skilled jobs, and a long-term driver of innovation that leads to new industries and the next generation of domestic jobs:
-
Manufacturing is a source of higher-paying American jobs. Manufacturing jobs pay between 8 and 20 percent higher than other industries. And manufacturing has a large employment “footprint"–employing 12 million Americans directly, and supporting around 17 million jobs indirectly. The manufacturing sector has added nearly 900,000 jobs since February 2010—but has not yet fully recovered the losses from the Great Recession.
-
Strengthening manufacturing bolsters innovation for the long-term. While manufacturing accounts for only 12 percent of GDP, it accounts for 90 percent of patents issued, 70 percent of private-sector R&D spending, and 60 percent of the private R&D workforce. Manufacturers innovate at nearly twice the rate as other companies.
-
The U.S. can compete for global leadership in manufacturing and the good jobs of the future. During the last decade, there was a pessimistic view that America could no longer compete for manufacturing. However, the U.S. is increasingly competitive as a location for investment as companies more carefully consider the total costs of production, and we need to create incentives to convince those companies to invest in our communities.
-
We cannot afford to lose our capacity to make products in America. The unique research intensity and connections between production and design that arise from manufacturing create spillover benefits throughout the economy. That is why ensuring America is a global leader in advanced manufacturing is critical to innovation and competing for the good jobs of the future.
(Source: hillaryclinton.com)
Night 1: Paid Family Leave
Night 2: Fixing America’s Infrastructure
Night 3: LGBT Rights and Equality
Night 4: Seeking a Cure for Alzheimer’s Disease
Night 5: Voting Rights
Night 6: Gun Violence Prevention
Night 7: Making College Affordable
Night 8: Small Business
Night 9: Veterans and the Armed Forces