What America would look like: Amy Klobuchar Las Vegas Weekly

[question everything]

It’s telling that Amy Klobuchar has labeled progressive initiatives like Medicare for All as “pipe dreams.” The Minnesota senator brands herself to voters as a pragmatic, get-things-done leader who will focus on passing politically feasible policies. Her policies largely reflect that image, positioning her as a moderate alternative to more left-leaning candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. That’s not to say she doesn’t have bold initiatives—her platform includes comprehensive immigration reform and a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, for example.

But Klobuchar wants Americans to see her as a down-to-earth Midwesterner whose combination of experience as a county prosecutor followed by 14 years in the Senate gives her an understanding of both kitchen table issues and the workings of Washington. She lists her top three priorities as building a strong ladder for the working and middle classes, addressing climate change and reforming immigration both to restore American values toward newcomers and to strengthen the workforce.

Immigration

n a detailed plan for her first 100 days, Klobuchar promises to undo Trump’s attempts to deport “Dreamers” and immigrants who have received Temporary Protected Status. She further says she would “jump-start” a discussion on comprehensive immigration reform toward approving a plan in her first year in office—regardless of whether Republicans remain in control of the Senate. Klobuchar said she worked with GOP colleagues in passing an immigration reform bill in 2013, which dead-ended in the House, and can do so again.

(snip)

Economy

In addition to free community college and vocational education, Klobuchar’s plan includes investment in green energy infrastructure, tax credits for retraining workers displaced by automation, and similar support for out-of-work Americans from the fossil fuels industry. She also would offer tax incentives to spark rural manufacturing, as well as indexed income caps on commodity payments to benefit small farmers.

Health Care

Klobuchar would retain private insurance while allowing individuals to buy into a public option to participate in Medicare or Medicaid. She offers detailed plans on addressing shortages of health care providers in low-income urban areas and rural areas, including support of congressional legislation that would establish employment protections and a streamlined path to a green card for foreign students who obtain their medical degrees in the U.S.

Infrastructure

Klobuchar proposes spending $1 trillion in a combination of federal funds, tax subsidies and loan guarantees for state and local governments on a variety of needs—roads and bridges, water systems, internet access, public transit, schools and more. She touts her experience in getting bipartisan support to obtain $250 million in emergency funding to rebuild the Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis after it collapsed in 2007. She brags that it took just 13 months to get the bridge rebuilt. The spending package would be largely funded by an increase in corporate taxes.

In Conclusion

Under a Klobuchar administration, the nation would be served by a president determined to forge breakthroughs on issues that have polarized Americans, such as immigration and gun safety, by pushing for solutions that she believes have bipartisan support but have been scuttled amid Trump extremism. She is a capable, experienced legislator who knows Washington and has worked across the aisle.

https://lasvegasweekly.com/news/2020/feb/13/what-america-would-look-like-amy-klobuchar

[squirecam]

1. Go Amy

Nt

[pattyloutwo]

2. Progressive VP pick?

I suppose it’s unrealistic to hope she’d pick a progressive like Warren?

[squirecam]

4. She would likely pick

Booker or Abrams ahead of Warren.

[MoonlitKnight]

3. Yawn

What percent of that 1 trillion dollars for infrastructure is loan guarantees? You know, loans that Wall Street and big banks can do with zero risk but taxpayers fund? And that bridge was built so quickly because the Republicans had their convention nearby and it was a big black eye. They didn’t really do anything else for infrastructure.

[question everything]

5. Easy to criticize. Do you know of others with a better plan?

The senator would have Uncle Sam cover $650 billion of the cost, three-and-a-half times what Trump promised last year in his “plan” (more like squiggles on a napkin, as it skimped on dollars and details). Klobuchar would pay for it by borrowing the funds and a new federal infrastructure bank. She’d also raise the corporate tax rate to 25 percent and impose new fees on big banks and firms that ship jobs overseas. You can quibble with this revenue-raiser or that, but you can’t accuse her of ducking the hard decisions about paying for her program.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/130031

[squirecam]

6. Yep

Nt