Infrastructure, taxes, and family—we dig in to what these and some of Clinton's other principles mean for owners.
“Growth” is the economic pillar Hillary Clinton stands on.
Boosting economic growth, creating fair growth, and supporting long-term growth are the cornerstones of Clinton’s policies on strengthening the U.S. economy. These include boosting infrastructure, taxing the rich, and raising the minimum wage. “My economic plans are detailed and varied because I think we are facing complex problems that require serious solutions,” she told the Washington Post.
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But what are some of these “detailed and varied” economic plans, and how will they affect small businesses?
1. Her economic plan calls for simplifying taxes for small business owners and allowing them to deduct up to $1 million in capital expenses (the current limit is $500,000). Other tax changes include quadrupling a startup deduction now available to lower the cost of starting a business, and simplifying and expanding an underused Affordable Care Act tax credit to encourage more small businesses to offer their workers health insurance, the Wall Street Journal reports.
2. If elected, Clinton will send a $275 billion infrastructure plan to Congress during her first 100 days in office. Besides creating a $25 billion infrastructure bank, she would also reauthorize the Obama administration’s Build America Bonds program, making it easier for state and local governments to finance projects.
“I will put forward a plan that is as big—in fact, bigger in some ways—than what President Eisenhower did when he created the interstate highway system,” she said.
3. Clinton’s economic vision is “Family First” (contrasting Donald Trump’s “America First” stance), and she plans to put families first by proposing paid family leave and universal preschool. New mothers and fathers would be guaranteed 12 weeks of paid leave with at least two-thirds of a worker’s current wages up to a cap, and preschool would be provided to all 4-year-olds across the country. This plan would be rolled out over the next 10 years.
“We will help you balance family and work,” Clinton said at the Democratic National Convention.
“Small businesses really are the backbone of the economy,” Karen Mills, an informal adviser for the Clinton campaign and former administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration for President Barack Obama’s Cabinet, told Yahoo Finance. “When [Clinton] says she wants to be the small business president, she understands how important that is. She’s saying it for a reason. This is how we’re going to drive the future, this is how we’re going to have innovation, this is how we’re going to have America grow.”
*Note: This news coverage does not equate to an endorsement of any candidate by NFIB.
Photo credit: Barbara Kinney for Hillary for America
