Seniors and Veterans Emergency Benefits Act

Dear Friends,

Elizabeth Warren has introduced a bill along with Bernie Sanders and 16 other Democratic Senators to provide a one time payment to seniors and veterans who are not getting a cost of living increase in 2016 because of the way in which the cost of living is calculated.  The amount of the payment is 3.9% which is the average raise for the top CEOs.  It would be paid for by eliminating a corporate loophole.  It is a great idea and not just because I am on Social Security.  You can read more here, here and here.

I searched the internet for quite awhile to find what Hillary Clinton had to say about this legislation, and I found nothing.  She is probably for it, but she certainly is not expending any energy to help the legislation get a hearing or passed.  While Secretary Clinton has said many times that she supports Social Security and will work to keep it from being cut back, she is not pushing to expand it.  An article on the Huffington Post website entitled "Hillary Clinton Hesitates on Expanding Social Security" (here) summarizes the differences between Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders on this issue.

"I fully support Social Security and the most important fight we're going to have is defending it against continuing Republican efforts to privatize it," Clinton said, after hesitating.
Asked again whether she would expand Social Security benefits, Clinton conceded that she would expand benefits for some of the program's poorest beneficiaries, specifically citing widows and single women.
"I want to enhance the benefits for the poorest recipients of Social Security,” Clinton said. “We have a lot of women on Social Security, particularly widowed and single women, who didn't make a lot of money during their careers and they are impoverished and they need more help from the Social Security system."
Sanders, by contrast, has introduced a bill that would expand Social Security across the board and increase its solvency by lifting the cap on earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes.
Responding to Clinton, Sanders said the reason he so strongly supports expansion is because he believes current benefits are inadequate for the vast majority of seniors.

The difference is clear, not only will Bernie Sanders fight to expand Social Security, he will lead with specific proposals while Hillary Clinton will give support to maintain and maybe perhaps expand for some if pushed really hard but with no specifics.  Bernie Sanders is a true leader.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal

Hillary Clinton and Fossil Fuels

Dear Friends,

As I have said before, I am pleased that Secretary Clinton has come out against drilling in the Arctic, against the Keystone XL pipeline and in favor of renewable energy.  The problem is that she is once again taking baby steps when giant steps are needed.

Try to find out where Secretary Clinton stands on fracking.  I thought I had found the answer when I came across an article in the Huffington Post entitled "Hillary Clinton Calls For Banning Fracking On Public Lands, With Some Conditions" from July 2015 (here).  Unfortunately upon reading the article, she actually called for phasing out the extraction of fossil fuels from Federal lands over some unstated period of time.

Clinton said she would not stop the extraction right away, but would try to make the transition as quickly as possible.
"We still have to run our economy, we still have to turn on the lights," Clinton told a town hall meeting in Dover, New Hampshire.
Clinton said the United States needs to balance its aspiration to be an energy super power with the need to lead on addressing climate change.

Oh how she loves to hedge her bets.  She says she is against it, but she says she will continue it.  She always wants it both ways.

Consider also her position on lifting the ban on exporting crude oil from the United States.   After months of silence on the issue, in mid-September she came out in favor of lifting the ban if the oil and gas industry made concessions.  Here are a few paragraphs from a Reuters article about her comments (here).

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Friday she would support lifting the 40-year-old U.S. ban on crude exports only if the measure included concessions from the oil and gas industry to move toward cleaner energy.

Clinton said she had not yet seen any legislation on lifting the ban that included concessions from the fossil fuel industry, In the absence of that, "I don't think the ban should be lifted," Clinton told reporters.

Clinton did not specify exactly what kind of concessions she wants from the oil and gas industry.

She is now on record as in favor of lifting the ban so long as there are unstated concessions, and she also on record as being against lifting the ban unless there are unstated concessions.

Bernie Sanders' position on both of these issues is very clear and has remained unchanged over time.  Senator Sanders believes that fracking should be banned. Senator Sanders is against lifting the ban on the export of crude oil from the United States.  In August 2015, Senator Sanders posted this statement on his campaign Twitter account.

We need to keep fossil fuels in the ground, and move to 100 percent renewable energy - and we need to act immediately.

Hillary Clinton seems incapable of making a plain straightforward statement of her positions.  You can agree or disagree with Senator Sanders, but you certainly know where he stands.  Senator Clinton wants to find a way to agree with you regardless of what you believe.

There may be many reasons why Secretary Clinton acts in this way on this issue as well as many others.  I came across an article in the Huffington Post from July 2015 entitled, "Hillary Clinton's Biggest Campaign Bundlers Are Fossil Fuel Lobbyists" (here).  The first two paragraphs read as follows:

Nearly all of the lobbyists bundling contributions for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign have at one time or another worked for the fossil fuel industry.
A list of 40 registered lobbyists that the Clinton camp disclosed to the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday revealed a number of Democratic Party lobbyists who have worked against regulations to curb climate change, advocated for offshore drilling, or sought government approval for natural gas exports.

The network of Clinton charities and foundations has also been the recipient of millions of dollars from big business, including oil and gas companies.  In February 2015, the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled, "Hillary Clinton's Complex Corporate Ties" (here).  The article catalogues the millions of dollars that have flowed into Clinton related charities and foundations from major corporations.  The article begins with these two paragraphs:

Among recent secretaries of state, Hillary Clinton was one of the most aggressive global cheerleaders for American companies, pushing governments to sign deals and change policies to the advantage of corporate giants such as General Electric Co., Exxon Mobil Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Boeing Co.
At the same time, those companies were among the many that gave to the Clinton family’s global foundation set up by her husband, former President Bill Clinton. At least 60 companies that lobbied the State Department during her tenure donated a total of more than $26 million to the Clinton Foundation, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of public and foundation disclosures.

The article continues

The Wall Street Journal identified the companies involved with both Clinton-family charitable endeavors and with Mrs. Clinton’s State Department by examining large corporate donations to the Clinton Foundation, then reviewing lobbying-disclosure reports filed by those companies. At least 44 of those 60 companies also participated in philanthropic projects valued at $3.2 billion that were set up though a wing of the foundation called the Clinton Global Initiative, which coordinates the projects but receives no cash for them. ...

Corporate donations to politically connected charities aren’t illegal so long as they aren’t in exchange for favors. There is no evidence of that with the Clinton Foundation.

In some cases, donations came after Mrs. Clinton took action that helped a company. In other cases, the donation came first. In some instances, donations came both before and after. All of the companies mentioned in this article said their charitable donations had nothing to do with their lobbying agendas with Mrs. Clinton’s State Department.

The article notes that Exxon Mobil has contributed $2 million to the Clinton Global Initiatives and since 2007 has contributed $16.8 million to Vital Voices a charity co-founded by Secretary Clinton.  It also contributes to the Clinton Foundation; the article notes a $250,000 contribution in 2013.

If you believe in the old adage about following the money, all of these contributions to Clinton related charities and campaigns must have some impact on Secretary Clinton's positions or lack thereof.

Senator Sanders has pledged not to accept contributions from the oil and gas industry.  We have a clear choice as to the type of candidate we want for President.  Bernie Sanders is a true liberal with long standing progressive positions on the issues and an unbending commitment to those positions.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal

The Death Penalty

Dear Friends,

Capital punishment is in the news quite often these days.  Even Jeb Bush, who presided over 21 executions as Governor of Florida, has announced that he is conflicted about the death penalty.  He nevertheless remains a supporter of the death penalty.  There is a short but good article in The Guardian (here).

Hillary Clinton finally after many years of silence on the issue has indicated that she thinks that the death penalty is applied too often and not fairly, but she still supports it.  Secretary Clinton evolved from thinking the death penalty was unconstitutional to being a strong on crime person to her current position that we need significant criminal justice reform including reform of the death penalty, but we should not abolish the death penalty.

There are two articles that I would recommend to you if you want to know more about the wide range of positions that Hillary Clinton has held during her lifetime.  The first is entitled "Hillary's forgotten death penalty shift" by Adam Lerner in Politico in April 2015 (here).  The article focuses on her position when she was the head of a legal aid clinic at the University of Arkansas and how she has evolved over time.  The second is entitled "A (More or Less) Definitive Guide to Hillary Clinton's Record on Law and Order" by Eli Hager at The Marshall Project (here) published in May 2015.  This article is exactly what the title says, and it is very comprehensive.  Both these articles were written before Secretary Clinton's recent statement indicating support for the death penalty.

Bernie Sanders has opposed the death penalty for his entire career.  Hillary Clinton has moved around a lot on the issue, but continues to support the death penalty.  Another clear difference in the views of these two candidates.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal