Economic Security and Opportunity for All American Families
Throughout every transformation the American economy has made—from agriculture to industry, local to national, peace to war and back again—there has been one constant: the advancement of individual opportunity. This isn’t a guarantee of success. But, as Americans, we believe that if you work hard, your work will be rewarded—that everyone should have an equal shot of making a good living, raising a family, giving their children a good start in life, and enjoying a secure retirement.
Right now, instead of a tax code that helps create opportunity for all, we have a tax code that is open to the highest bidder, riddled with loopholes, and gamed to help the wealthy and well-connected. This is the same dynamic that has thwarted progress on reducing the costs of health care and college and making sure that all our children go to schools that prepare them for success. As a result, the promise of upward mobility is more and more difficult for hardworking families to realize.
At the same time, higher health care, energy, and college costs together with falling incomes have made it harder for families to save and have the resources to go back to school, start a new business, or plan for their future. This economic insecurity makes it harder for families to invest in their future, which ultimately means less growth and less investment in all of our future. It chokes off the dynamism and risk-taking that make America the most innovative economy in the world. Barack Obama’s plan throws out what doesn’t work, like tax breaks for big oil companies and companies that ship jobs overseas, and invests in what does work, such as tax breaks for businesses that create American jobs and support for hardworking families. As President, Barack Obama will:
Give Every Working Family a $1,000 Tax Cut.
To give 150 million workers the tax relief they deserve, Barack Obama will create a new “Making Work Pay” tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family. This refundable income tax credit will offset the payroll tax on the first $8,100 of earnings for 95 percent of all American workers while still preserving the important principle of a dedicated revenue source for Social Security. This not only helps small business owners struggling to meet expenses; for 10 million low-income Americans, the “Making Work Pay” tax credit also will completely eliminate their federal income taxes. This tax cut is just part of a series of tax cuts that Barack Obama will give to help American families afford a new home, pay for college and health care, and save for retirement. For tens of millions of families, Barack Obama’s tax cuts will provide thousands of dollars of needed relief.
Eliminate Income Taxes for Seniors Making Less than $50,000.
Barack Obama believes that seniors facing high health care costs and who are worrying about dwindling retirement savings also need relief. As President, he will eliminate all income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This will save seven million seniors an average of $1,400 a year, and mean that twenty-seven million seniors will not need to file an income tax return at all.
Ease the Burden of High Gas Prices and Make Oil Companies Share in the Sacrifice.
The most important step we can take to directly relieve the burden of rising gas prices is to give energy rebates that go directly into the pockets of families and provide relief at the pump, including a limited swap of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. We also should do everything we can to make sure that oil prices are not being driven up by speculators and that oil companies are not profiting unfairly from the windfall. That is why as President, Barack Obama would crack down on speculators by fully closing the “Enron loophole,” a move that would require that U.S. energy futures trade on regulated exchanges. In addition, he will direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice to investigate allegations of market manipulation and other wrongdoing.
Help Workers Displaced by Trade and Globalization.
To help all workers adapt to a rapidly changing economy, Barack Obama will modernize and expand the existing system of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) to include all workers hurt by changing trade patterns—including those in the service sector and those losing jobs going to countries with which we do not have trade agreements, such as China and India. He will create flexible education accounts that workers can use to retrain, provide retraining assistance for workers in sectors of the economy vulnerable to dislocation before they lose their jobs, and provide additional assistance for workers to afford health care. He will also sign into law an updated WARN Act that requires large employers to notify employees of a layoff ninety days before a plant closing—an increase of thirty days from today’s standard. And Barack Obama will expand apprenticeship programs to help workers get credentials and skills in crafts that reward that investment with a middle-class income and benefits.
Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Those who work hard, full-time, should be able to make ends meet, yet too many working Americans cannot. In the Illinois State Senate, Barack Obama led the successful effort to create the $100 million Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). As President, Barack Obama will reward work by increasing the number of working parents eligible for EITC benefits, the benefit available to parents who support their children through child support payments, and the benefit for families with three or more children—while reducing the EITC marriage penalty, which hurts low-income families. In an Obama Administration, full-time workers earning the minimum wage could see their EITC benefit triple.
Raise the Minimum Wage.
Barack Obama believes that people who work full-time should not live in poverty. Before the Democrats took back Congress, the minimum wage had not changed in ten years. Even though the minimum wage will rise to $7.25 an hour by 2009, the minimum wage’s real purchasing power will still be below what it was in 1968. As President, Barack Obama will raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2011 and index it to inflation.
Protect Workers and Their Right to Organize.
Barack Obama has seen firsthand how important unions are to ensuring fairness and dignity for workers. As a community organizer in a South Chicago neighborhood devastated by steel mill closings, Barack Obama saw what an important force for progress unions are. That’s why he has championed organized labor for his entire career, and as President, Barack Obama will:
Support and sign into law the Employee Free Choice Act to ensure that workers can exercise their right to organize, and oppose “Right-to-Work” and “Paycheck Protection” efforts to limit union membership and labor’s voice.
Ensure that workers are paid the wages and benefits they have earned by upholding overtime pay protections and ensuring employers do not misclassify workers as “independent contractors” to avoid giving workers the benefits they deserve.
Protect the Davis-Bacon Act on prevailing wages. Ban the permanent replacement of striking workers, so workers can stand up for themselves without worrying about losing their livelihoods.
Make workplaces safer by increasing funding for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, hire more inspectors, and increase penalties for lawbreakers.
Establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights.
As strapped consumers face mounting bills and declining home values, credit cards could turn into the next subprime market crisis. Barack Obama believes that every American should have a uniform set of rights while dealing with credit card companies, no matter their financial status or credit history. An Obama Administration will create a Credit Card Bill of Rights to ban unilateral changes, apply