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Americans hardest working people: Hillary

March 28, 2008 18:13 IST

Maintaining her hardline over outsourcing, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has vowed to plug tax loopholes for 'freeloader corporations' shipping jobs abroad and correct 'wrong' policies of the Bush administration, which were making Americans 'pay the price'.

"I will close the tax loopholes for companies that outsource jobs. No company will be able to use your tax dollars to ship your job overseas," Clinton said while campaigning through North Carolina.

"Closing these loopholes won't just keep jobs in America but it will also stop freeloader corporations from avoiding $ 50 billion in taxes each year," she added.

Senator Clinton also argued that it was the average American who was paying the price for what she termed 'the wrong-headed policies' of the administration. "I know that North Carolina has lost a lot of jobs. But I also know that you've worked hard to equip people with the skills needed to try to get new jobs. We embrace hard work. The American people are the hardest workers in the world. Don't let anybody tell you any different" she said at a rally in Raleigh.

"Our American workers work harder and are more productive than anyone. And yet, for too many here in North Carolina and elsewhere, that hard work doesn't seem to be paying off. And who pays the price for these wrong-headed policies? Well, hard-working middle-class Americans pay the price," she added.

The New York Democrat further said: "You pay the price when your job is shipped overseas and a business pockets a tax advantage. You pay a price when the jobs replacing the ones that were lost offer lower pay and fewer benefits. You pay the price as we watch the shrinking of jobs that used to support families so that now so many people are working two, even three jobs to try to make up what they have lost".

Asking for the 'priorities' to be set straight and a 'level-playing field for the middle class and against the corporate special interests', Clinton said: "It's time for a president who is ready on day one to be the Commander-in-Chief of our economy".

Hillary, who was earlier known for her open support to free market and outsourcing, has had to change her tune after rival Democrat leader Barack Obama took a tough line against the shipping of jobs outside United States.

Sridhar Krishnaswami in Washington
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