WASHINGTON: Indian American Neera Tanden on Wednesday led the Hillary Clinton campaign in slamming the economic policies of Donald Trump, Republican presidential presumptive nominee, and alleging that this poses threat to the economic future of women and families.
“Make no mistake: Trump’s divisive comments about women’s health are a direct threat to our dignity and economic security,” said Ms Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
“Trump is now trying to cover up the bald spots in his economic plan but women can see for themselves and women can see through his comb over,” said Ms Tanden who was joined by Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.
The two said that the trillions in tax cuts for millionaires, billionaires and corporations laid out in Trump’s tax plan would be an enormous boon for the top one per cent of earners, made at the expense of working families, seniors and the health of the economy.
Trump’s plan would give USD 3 trillion over 10 years or more than 35 per cent of its tax breaks to millionaires, enough money to ensure Medicare and Social Security’s solvency for the next 75 years, repair the ailing infrastructure, or raise every person now living in poverty up to the poverty line.
Trump would give multi-millionaires in the top 0.1 per cent like himself a raise of USD 1.3 million a year, or USD 100,000 a month.
Ms Tanden alleged Trump’s ideas are not the only risk his presidency would pose for the economic future of women and families around this country.
“His tax plan gives USD 3 trillion to millionaires, that’s enough to make Social Security and Medicare solvent for 75 years. Women, who rely disproportionately on Social Security, can’t afford such an irresponsible giveaway,” Ms Tanden said.
Ms Tanden and Mikulski said Trump still opposes raising the minimum wage because he believes “wages are too high” and recently said he doesn’t favor a federal floor for the minimum wage, which could leave many workers subject to a lower minimum wage.
At a time when two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women, this issue is critical to working families, they said. “I’m with Hillary because I know that she’s the only candidate who will make fighting for women and families her priority,” Mikulski said.