09-28-2015, 06:33 PM
Hillary Clinton's Changes of Stance
Criminal Justice Reform
2007-2008: Clinton released an anti-crime agenda that focused on making communities feel “secure and safe.” She advocated for putting 100,000 new cops on the streets, taking on “the menace of meth” and halving the murder rate of certain cities in a section of the plan dedicated to “restoring order” to communities. But her plan also emphasized preventing at-risk youth from resorting to crime, reducing the size of the prison population, combating recidivism and reforming mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders.
2015: In a year when numerous police killings of unarmed black people have given rise to the Black Lives Matter movement and a national conversation about police militarization and racial disparities in the criminal justice system, any plan from a Democrat that included calls to “restore order” and fund more police would be seen as out of touch. Accordingly, Clinton has released a plan to “end the era of mass incarceration” and said she supports body cameras for officers. She also released a plan to combat drug addiction and the national opioid epidemic by supporting medication-assisted treatment.
Social Security
2007-2008: Clinton criticized Obama’s proposal to lift the cap on the amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax, which was $97,500 at the time. She characterized lifting the cap as a tax increase that would hit middle-class earners. She said she wanted to put “fiscal responsibility” first, and convene a bipartisan commission that would come up with way to ensure Social Security's solvency in the future.
2015: As Democratic members of Congress back expanding Social Security benefits, rather than just maintaining the status quo, Clinton has expressed a willingness to consider raising the cap on earnings subject to the tax, which is $118,500 this year. “We do have to look at the cap, and we have to figure out whether we raise it or whether we raise it a little and then jump over and raise it more higher up,” she said at a campaign event, according to The Washington Post.
Criminal Justice Reform
2007-2008: Clinton released an anti-crime agenda that focused on making communities feel “secure and safe.” She advocated for putting 100,000 new cops on the streets, taking on “the menace of meth” and halving the murder rate of certain cities in a section of the plan dedicated to “restoring order” to communities. But her plan also emphasized preventing at-risk youth from resorting to crime, reducing the size of the prison population, combating recidivism and reforming mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders.
2015: In a year when numerous police killings of unarmed black people have given rise to the Black Lives Matter movement and a national conversation about police militarization and racial disparities in the criminal justice system, any plan from a Democrat that included calls to “restore order” and fund more police would be seen as out of touch. Accordingly, Clinton has released a plan to “end the era of mass incarceration” and said she supports body cameras for officers. She also released a plan to combat drug addiction and the national opioid epidemic by supporting medication-assisted treatment.
Social Security
2007-2008: Clinton criticized Obama’s proposal to lift the cap on the amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax, which was $97,500 at the time. She characterized lifting the cap as a tax increase that would hit middle-class earners. She said she wanted to put “fiscal responsibility” first, and convene a bipartisan commission that would come up with way to ensure Social Security's solvency in the future.
2015: As Democratic members of Congress back expanding Social Security benefits, rather than just maintaining the status quo, Clinton has expressed a willingness to consider raising the cap on earnings subject to the tax, which is $118,500 this year. “We do have to look at the cap, and we have to figure out whether we raise it or whether we raise it a little and then jump over and raise it more higher up,” she said at a campaign event, according to The Washington Post.