Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., on Monday accused Republicans under President Bush of economic mismanagement and favoring the rich as she outlined a Democratic campaign agenda of tax breaks and incentives designed to make the costs of health care, college and retirement more affordable for millions of Americans.
The American Dream Initiative includes proposals that DLC President Bruce Reed said would cost $450 billion to $500 billion over 10 years. He said the cost could be offset by eliminating corporate subsidies in the tax code, cutting out 100,000 unnecessary federal contractors and making a more aggressive effort to identify and collect taxes now going uncollected by the Internal Revenue Service. [...]
The centerpiece proposal would provide additional support for college costs, with the goal of increasing the number of college graduates by 1 million a year by 2015. The proposal includes $150 billion in block grants for the states to ease rising tuition costs and a consolidated tax credit worth $3,000 for students. To qualify, states and universities would have to limit tuition increases to the rate of inflation.
Other ideas include "baby bonds" that would create a government-funded savings account of $500 for every child born in the United States; a refundable tax credit to provide the down payment on a new home and universal health care for children.
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