Published: April 12, 2008 12:13 am         

Bill Clinton brings ‘Solutions’ to Valley

Former president touts wife's plans during campaign stop

Clinton — Former President Bill Clinton asked people to imagine slapping their bank presidents in the head.

“Do you think you could get a loan tomorrow morning?” he asked the crowd of about 1,500 on Friday morning in South Vermillion High School.

The 42nd president was campaigning for his wife, Hillary Clinton, speaking at a “Solutions for America” event.

He used the slapping-the-bank-president statement as an example of why the United States can’t currently enforce trading policies. The top four countries the United States trades with are also the same four countries it borrows money from, he said.

Rebuilding the middle class, national security and making the changes America needs were the main topics of Clinton’s speech.

“The middle class is under assault in this country, the middle-class dream is under assault,” he said. “The government has been run by special-interest groups and cronies for the benefit of the few.”

Median incomes today are lower than they were when Clinton left the presidency in 2001, he said.

Rising costs and stagnant incomes are the main contributors to the middle-class problem, with health care and fuel costs being the worst, he said.

Thirty cents of every dollar in the health-care industry goes to paperwork, Clinton said. “Now, is there a business in Clinton, Indiana that can make a living if they squandered 30 percent of its living on paperwork?” he asked.

With that figure, Clinton said people spend $200 billion more for health care on paperwork alone than they would if the nation adopted any other country’s health-care plan.

Hillary’s plan states that people can keep the plans they have, or buy into the same plan that insures federal employees, members of Congress and their families, Clinton said. People who don’t have insurance or who can’t afford it can also buy into that plan.

“If it’s good enough for our family, it’s good enough for your family,” he said with cheers following.

There will be a variety of options depending on the people and the type of coverage they need, he said, noting the more people that are covered by the same plan, the less costs will be.

Clinton also spoke about the cost of fuel. Oil prices are set by other countries’ demands in addition to the United States’ demand, Clinton said, so the key to lowering the cost of fuel is lowering the demand.

Voting for Hillary will be a vote to establish a strategic energy fund that will be used to accelerate the production of homegrown fuel and clean energy as well as accelerate the availability of a 100-mile-per-gallon car, he said.

Increasing the development and improvement of hybrid cars can make 100-mile-per-gallon cars more accessible. The strategic energy fund would facilitate research into increasing production of the batteries needed in hybrid cars at a reasonable cost, Clinton said.

“ … You charge whatever you want [for barrels of oil], we’re going to keep our $350 billion in America, in our families’ pockets, in our children’s futures, in our jobs …” he said over thunderous applause.

Millions and millions of jobs can be created from reducing the country’s dependency on foreign oil because the focus will be on homegrown energy, clean energy and energy conservation, which will address the issue of stagnant incomes, he said.

Jobs also will be saved with Hillary’s plan to repeal the tax cuts companies have received by outsourcing and provide the tax cuts for companies that in-source manufacturing jobs to areas that need it, Clinton said.

In the end, Clinton told people that they have to decide what they want in a president. He told them they can win the election for Hillary.

It all comes down to three questions to answer after Hillary’s presidency, if elected: Are the American people better off when she quits than when she started? Do the young people of the country have a much brighter future than when she started? Is the country and others coming together instead of being torn apart?

“If you want the answers to those questions to be yes,” Clinton said over rising applause, “Indiana should say ‘Yes!’ to Hillary!”

Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.