HuffPo - The Inside Story Of Clinton’s Progressive Policy Agenda

Every so often, on LBM, there is a story of the latest policy announcement from the Hillary campaign. There are a few kicks, nods of agreement, but quickly the story sinks down under the weight of the latest Trump outrage. Sadly, most Americans will not see the most progressive DNC platform in decades or the detailed policy proposals emanating from the Clinton campaign. Instead, we have a race that revolves around racism and bigotry, which is not insignificant. It is just that it is surprising that we are even debating some of the ignorant, hateful statements emanating from the Trump campaign such nationwide stop and frisk, banning Muslims, and deporting 12 million undocumented immigrants.

http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/hillary-clinton-policy-agenda/

At the outset, Clinton sat down at her kitchen table with Ann O’Leary, the senior policy adviser who was leading the effort, and made it clear she wanted something ambitious. The motivation was obvious enough, with Americans carrying something like $1.3 trillion in outstanding college debt, and even relatively affluent families struggling to cover tuition bills. “The request was that we think big, bring up ideas regardless of whether they were fully fleshed out or might be controversial,” says Robert Shireman, a former Obama and Clinton administration official who was one of several experts who worked on the plan.

Reining in tuition costs is a trickier proposition than you might expect, and not one that money alone can solve. If it became easier for families to pay for college, it would become easier for colleges to hike prices; if Washington put up more funds, states would try to put up less. Plus, Clinton had essentially ruled out increasing deficits or middle-class taxes, limiting the revenue available for any new endeavors. The wonks would have to get freaky.

Ultimately, Clinton settled on a scheme the campaign named the “New College Compact.” The goal, making public college debt-free, was simple. The mechanics were not. Families would pay “realistic” fees based on income, with poorer families paying nothing at all. Students would contribute directly through work-study programs. Washington would provide most of the money, but states would have to kick in some funds and hold the line on tuition increases. The feds would also crack down on for-profit colleges where too many students were getting substandard degrees and defaulting on their loans. All in all, the proposal would require some $350 billion in new spending over 10 years, which Clinton planned to pay for by raising taxes on the rich. James Kvaal, a former Obama administration adviser who consulted on the initiative, described it in an email as “a once-in-a-century change in the relationship between the federal government and colleges, on par with the Morrill Act (which created land grant colleges in the 19th Century) and the G.I. Bill.”

A few days before Clinton’s speech, O’Leary convened a final conference call to discuss media strategy. Anticipating a lot of attention, she instructed the team to be ready by the phones. Clinton delivered her address at a high school in Exeter, New Hampshire, and afterward, held a press conference in the gym. She got just one query about the plan. Earlier that week, Trump had described Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly as having “blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever” during a debate, and so Clinton was grilled on whether Trump should apologize to Kelly, whether he had a problem with women, and what Clinton thought of the fact that Trump had retweeted someone who called Kelly a bimbo.