Clinton talks economics in Waterloo campaign stop

WATERLOO - 'Consistently wrong, but consistent” is how Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton described Republicans' plans for the economy during a Waterloo stop Wednesday focused on rebuilding the manufacturing sector in the United States.

Clinton reminded the 400 attendees at a 'Fighting for Us” town hall at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center of the deep recession the country faced when Democratic President Barack Obama took office.

She made the case that as president she would build off Obama's economic successes to make a national economy work better for the middle class, criticizing her would-be Republican opponents along the way.

'We're standing, but we're not yet running the way America should,” Clinton said. 'I want to build on what works.”

Clinton proposed a manufacturing renaissance tax credit she described as a 'kind of swat team response” to help communities at risk of a downward spiral when manufacturing jobs leave the area.

She said she would work with Congress on a number of issues to ensure companies pay their fair share of the tax rate. She said it is not only an issue of fairness but also of patriotism.

Clinton said she would work to end inversions - 'a technical term for a trick,” she said - that allow American companies to benefit from lower corporate tax rates by technically relocating their headquarters in another country. She would do that in part by working with Congress to impose an 'exit tax” on those corporations.

Adopting a deep, depressed-sounding voice, Clinton repeated some Republican lines from debates about Obama's slow rate of recovery in the wake of the recession. Responding to those comments Clinton said, 'Honest to goodness, that takes a lot of nerve. We would not have needed to recover if they hadn't driven us into the big ditch in the first place.”

After applause, she added, 'So, I get pretty worked up about this.”

Republicans hit back at Clinton, criticizing her proposals.

'Hillary Clinton's entire proposal is inverted because it does nothing to solve the underlying problem of our outdated and uncompetitive tax code,” Republican National Committee spokesman Fred Brown said. He noted that Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, recently had defended inversions.

Clinton's town hall came after she spent about 45 minutes touring nearby Cedar Valley TechWorks, which houses the largest 3-D printer in North America. The tour was led by Jerry Thiel, director of the Metal Casting Center; Iowa Rep. Bob Kressig, D-Cedar Falls; and Iowa Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, who had invited Clinton to tour the facility during her first visit to Cedar Falls in May.

She also met with several University of Northern Iowa students who are pursuing a degree in metal casting.

As the tour concluded, Clinton saw the results of some of the work that was put in. The sand- printed images came out bearing a note that read, 'Welcome Secretary Clinton,” and one of her campaign logo - the letter H with an arrow pointing forward. When told that she should display the logo, Clinton smiled as she said, 'If all goes well, I'll have it in the White House.”

Clinton talked up the importance of the work that was being done at TechWorks. and praised the tour guides for answering each of her questions.

'Wow, that was impressive, and it was exciting to see what is happening right here in this area because of the great partnership between the University of Northern Iowa and Hawkeye Community College,” Clinton said at the outset of her town hall.

After the event, several people stuck around to meet Clinton. Among them was Leah Fairchild of Cedar Falls, who won't be able to vote for Clinton, as she's only 15. Fairchild said she attended because she wanted to be a part of the historic opportunities Iowans have to see presidential candidates.

Jill Applegate of Des Moines is likewise trying to get to see all of the presidential candidates ahead of the Feb. 1 caucus but, as an advocate with Every Child Matters, she's hoping to get input on how the candidates will tackle issues related to the cost of child care.

Applegate asked that question -- one of six questions Clinton answered -- and was pleased with Clinton's response, though her group isn't endorsing a particularly candidate. Clinton told Applegate she would work with Congress to pass a paid family leave act and stressed the importance of early childhood education.

Jim Loomer of Greene had no hesitation in his support for Clinton. He said he's a precinct captain and will be working until the caucuses to build support for Clinton.

'She's the only one that's got a plan for how she's going to do all this. The rest of them are just standing up there talking,” Loomer said.

'She excites the people that she's trying to help the most.”