Presidential Voter Guide
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2016 NHLA Presidential Candidate Voter Guide On February 24, 2016, NHLA issued a questionnaire to each of the presidential candidates from both major political parties with questions that were based on its 2016 Hispanic Public Policy Agenda. Each of the candidates was invited to provide their responses to these questions by March 25, 2016. As of September 27, 2016, no responses have been received from candidate Donald Trump. In lieu of his responses, information on the candidate’s positions are included based on publicly available sources. This voter guide will be updated when or if the candidate’s responses are received. NHLA does not endorse or oppose any candidate for public office. This document is based on the responses that were provided to us by the presidential candidates or their public statements. It is not intended to interpret, examine, or opine on any of the responses or the lack thereof. While we encourage the public to read these responses, any candidate’s fitness for office should be judged on a variety of qualifications that go beyond their responses to the questions that follow. National Hispanic Leadership Agenda • 815 16th St. NW, 3rd Floor • Washington, DC 20006 • 202‐508‐6919 • nationalhispanicleadership.org • @NHLAgenda TOPIC BACKGROUND QUESTION CANDIDATE RESPONSE FEDERAL Since 2011, federal efforts to reduce the deficit In your investment agenda As president, I would prioritize investments that drive job creation, productivity, and higher wages have relied more on cuts to domestic — including infrastructure that will put Americans back to work, education from early childhood BUDGET for the federal budget, what discretionary programs rather than on raising to college to unlock the potential of every American, basic research, clean energy, job training and revenue. The 2011 Budget Control Act set strict domestic programs would apprenticeships, and more. caps on discretionary funding through across‐ you prioritize for increased the‐board budget cuts known as sequestration. or decreased funding? For example, I would increase federal infrastructure funding by $275 billion over a five‐year period, While a partial lifting of sequestration was fully paying for these investments through business tax reform. According to the White House included in the 2013 and 2015 Bipartisan Council of Economic Advisers, every $1 billion in infrastructure investment creates 13,000 jobs. Budget Acts, investments in non‐defense Moreover, the vast majority of the jobs created by infrastructure investment are good‐paying, domestic discretionary programs have been cut middle‐class jobs — paying above the national median. dramatically in recent years. We also need to make it much easier for every American to join and stay in the labor force and find a good job by making quality child care more affordable, ensuring America is no longer the only developed nation without paid leave, and ensuring that workers are provided with fair schedules, fair wages and overtime pay. That’s how we will create a full employment economy with a tight labor market that drives rising pay for workers, gives every worker a pathway to a good job, and ensures everyday Americans share in the rewards — not just those at the top. The response below was not provided by the candidate’s campaign. It is based on information from publicly available sources. We continue to welcome the candidate’s direct response and will update this voter guide accordingly. “We will build the next generation of roads, bridges, railways, tunnels, sea ports and airports that our country deserves. American cars will travel the roads, American planes will connect our cities, and American ships will patrol the seas. American steel will send new skyscrapers soaring.”1 “These projects put people to work—not just the people doing the work but also the manufacturers, the suppliers, the designers, and, yes, even the lawyers. The Senate Budget Committee estimates that rebuilding America will create 13 million jobs.”2 “I am going to save Social Security without any cuts. I know where to get the money from. Nobody else does.”3 Trump’s budget plans also include significant cuts or possible elimination of the Department of Education and Environmental Protection Agency.4 1 “An America First Economic Plan: Winning the Global Competition” speech delivered at the Detroit Economic Club, August 8, 2016. http://fortune.com/2016/08/08/trump‐economic‐speech‐detroit/ 2 Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again, by Donald Trump. http://abcnews.go.com/US/book‐excerpt‐donald‐trumps‐crippled‐america‐make‐america/story?id=34931608 3 Tweet from Donald Trump. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/601544572498509824 4 “Donald Trump Vows to Slash Funding for Education, EPA” Wall Street Journal, January 11, 2016. http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald‐trump‐vows‐to‐slash‐funding‐for‐education‐epa‐1452551107 ECONOMIC Latinos are overrepresented in low‐wage What tax and wage policies The typical Latino household earns more than 20% less than the typical white household, and EMPOWERMENT occupations and have lower levels of household would you pursue to help Latinas earn, on average, 55 cents for every dollar earned by a white man. I have fought to raise wealth than other racial and ethnic groups. the minimum wage for many years and will do so as president. A higher minimum wage doesn't Because Latinos are overrepresented in low‐ working families earn a just help those at the bottom of the pay scale, it strengthens the economy and helps American wage jobs, the effect of wage stagnation on living that supports their workers and families. We should also support state and local efforts to go above the federal floor their economic well‐being is particularly needs? where it makes sense to do so. I was pleased to see President Obama expand overtime rules, profound, with 67 percent of Latinos reporting which was an important step. We also need to work to close the wage gap for Latinas. And in a recent poll that they are not earning throughout all of this, we need to ensure workers have the collective bargaining power they need enough to meet their basic expenses. Forty‐two to fight for fair wages and decent benefits. percent of all Latinos earn poverty‐level wages despite having the highest rate of labor force We also need a more progressive tax system, to make sure that corporations and those at the top participation among all racial and ethnic pay their fair share. As president, I will provide middle class tax relief and ask the wealthiest Americans to pay more. That groups. means getting rid of the loophole that allows hedge fund managers to pay a lower tax rate. It also means implementing the “Buffett Rule,” so that millionaires never pay a lower effective tax rate than middle class families; imposing a surtax on the incomes of multi‐millionaires; and cracking down on loopholes that allow corporations to shift profits overseas. We need a fairer tax system and a safer financial system that works on behalf of all working families. The response below was not provided by the candidate’s campaign. It is based on information from publicly available sources. We continue to welcome the candidate’s direct response and will update this voter guide accordingly. “I am proposing an across‐the‐board income tax reduction, especially for middle‐income Americans. This will lead to millions of new good‐paying jobs. The rich will pay their fair share, but no one will pay so much that it destroys jobs, or undermines our ability to compete. As part of this reform, we will eliminate the Carried Interest Deduction and other special interest loopholes that have been so good for Wall Street investors, and people like me, but unfair to American workers.” “My plan will reduce the current number of brackets from 7 to 3, and dramatically streamline the process. We will work with House Republicans on this plan, using the same brackets they have proposed: 12, 25 and 33 percent.” “No one will gain more from these proposals than low‐and‐middle income Americans. My plan will also help reduce the cost of childcare by allowing parents to fully deduct the average cost of childcare spending from their taxes.”5 “I don’t want to raise the minimum wage. I want to create jobs so people can get much more than that, so they can get five times what the minimum wage is.” 6 5 “An America First Economic Plan: Winning the Global Competition” speech delivered at the Detroit Economic Club, August 8, 2016. http://fortune.com/2016/08/08/trump‐economic‐speech‐detroit/ 6 “Trump: Why is federal government making money on student loans?“ The Hill, July 23, 2015. http://thehill.com/policy/finance/248913‐trump‐why‐is‐federal‐government‐making‐money‐on‐student‐loans WORKING Many Latino workers experience violations of What policies and It is vital that we modernize basic labor standards. Worker protections and basic labor standards CONDITIONS minimum wage, overtime pay and other labor have failed to keep pace with changes over the past half century. I was an original co‐ sponsor of protections. In many cases the workers are employment‐law the Employee Free Choice Act, and I support the WAGE Act. We also need to raise wages and laboring for a company that denies it is an enforcement approaches reduce poverty among working families, including supporting and strengthening workers’ right to "employer" of such workers; it contends that organize and bargain collectively, raising the minimum wage, eradicating wage theft, ensuring a staffing agency or labor contractor is the do you support to that employers do not misclassify true employees as “independent contractors” to skirt their sole "employer" or misclassifies the workers reduce exploitation of obligations, and leveling the playing field for women and people of color.