At long last, Hillary Clinton faced Toledoans and presented some ideas on one of the most important challenges facing our region: creating and keeping good jobs. She talked about values and policies. But, disappointingly, considering that her advantage in this election is being a policy wonk, her specific proposals were relatively thin and not very new.
Mrs. Clinton reaffirmed the importance of the auto bailout and that “auto companies have a responsibility to give back.” Thus, she praised Chrysler’s investment in building the new Jeep Wrangler in Toledo. For her, this illustrates her campaign slogan, “stronger together”: America came to the rescue of the auto industry, and now the industry must support America.
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The former secretary of state criticized Wall Street for pushing companies “to prioritize boosting share prices in the short term over building real value, investing in workers, plant, and equipment over the longer term.” She said she would strive to see that workers are “treated like assets, not costs.” But while she said “it’s time to rewrite the rules and make this economy fair for everyone,” more clarity on just what rules she thinks would shift executives’ emphasis would have been helpful.
Mrs. Clinton called for a $10 billion “Make It in America” partnership to support American manufacturing. As an illustration of what that $10 billion would do, she mentioned “incentives like the New Markets Tax Credit for creating good jobs in poor or remote areas, from inner cities to rural communities ravaged — ravaged — by hollowed-out factories, ravaged by mines that have been shut down, ravaged by opiate addiction.” That tax credit sounds quite relevant to our area. It was enacted in 2000.
She called for clawing back tax breaks from companies that move their official headquarters overseas or outsource jobs.
Mrs. Clinton spoke of strengthening the enforcement of trade agreements.
Much of Hillary Clinton’s speech in Toledo concerned strengthening small businesses. Since she said small businesses “create most of the jobs in America,” perhaps this can be counted as part of her jobs policy.
When it came to specific policies to create and preserve jobs, then, Mrs. Clinton’s speech was thin gruel. She did not mention NAFTA, and while she reaffirmed her opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership and said it was “unfair to American workers,” she cited its “dispute-resolution system that favors large corporations,” rather than presenting an argument that it would cost jobs or — even more important — an explanation of how to construct trade deals that create U.S. jobs.
Nor did Mrs. Clinton present a program to address the opioid problem that has, as she put it, “ravaged” our area. Lake Erie and our drinking water were not part of her speech either. Her focus was on the economy, including protections for workers and consumers.
By coming to Toledo, she showed respect to a part of the country that has been struggling economically. But we still await “Plan B,” from Mrs. Clinton or anyone else. For 50 years, Toledo, once one of America’s most prosperous cities, has been in decline. How do we return to prosperity and growth?
First Published October 6, 2016, 4:00 a.m.