Posted on 09/28/2007 3:03:30 PM PDT by LurkedLongEnough
WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Friday that every child born in the United States should get a $5,000 "baby bond" from the government to help pay for future costs of college or buying a home.
Clinton, her party's front-runner in the 2008 race, made the suggestion during a forum hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus.
"I like the idea of giving every baby born in America a $5,000 account that will grow over time, so that when that young person turns 18 if they have finished high school they will be able to access it to go to college or maybe they will be able to make that downpayment on their first home," she said.
The New York senator did not offer any estimate of the total cost of such a program or how she would pay for it. Approximately 4 million babies are born each year in the United States.
Clinton said such an account program would help people get back to the tradition of savings that she remembers as a child, and has become harder to accomplish in the face of rising college and housing costs.
One way of building a stronger economy, she said, is "more savings, starting with the so-called baby bonds idea where every person born in this country would be given that kind of account because we want to make an investment in America's young people."
She argued that wealthy people "get to have all kinds of tax incentives to save, but most people can't afford to do that."
The proposal was met with enthusiastic applause at an event aimed to encourage young people to excel and engage in politics.
"I think it's a wonderful idea," said Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, an Ohio Democrat who attended the event and has already endorsed Clinton. "Every child born in the United States today owes $27,000 on the national debt, why not let them come get $5,000 to grow until their 18?"
Blake Zeff, a spokesman for the senator's campaign, said a baby bonds program "is not a firm policy proposal but an idea under consideration."
Britain launched a similar program in January 2005, handing out vouchers worth hundreds of dollars each to parents with children born after Sept. 1, 2002.
Earlier this month, Time magazine proposed a $5,000 baby bond program.
stupid bitch
Can I type ‘Sick Bitch’ without my post being removed?
Good idea. And in the spirit of your proposed mandatory health insurance plan, make the parents put up the dough. If you’re going to bring your offspring into the world, let’s make sure the rest of us aren’t paying for its upkeep.
I was born in New Jersey in 1950. I want my baby bond retroactively. I figure with interest it should be worth a couple million by now.
Come on Hillary, put up or shut up.
And who’s going to pay for it? We will! Socialism at work again. Share the wealth....communism at work again. Tax us to death.........Hillaryism at work again. With all the Clinton’s money and if she is really worried about it, let her give them her money.
How about “every child born within a marriage between a man and a woman who are U.S. Citizens at the time of the birth”, as opposed to the sluts and sex deviates who have babies out of wedlock, depending on others to pay for them?
Why not throw a Harvard PhD into the cradle at birth too? Then we can stop the bickering over equality of opportunity, because everyone will already have a fancy doctorate.
“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” said Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, an Ohio Democrat who attended the event and has already endorsed Clinton. “Every child born in the United States today owes $27,000 on the national debt, why not let them come get $5,000 to grow until their 18?”
***
Huh?
Oh, and by the way to the writer/editor at WFSB, the word is “they’re” not “their.”
Let's have a bidding war.
Of course...she's from Cleveland, OH, where her constituency consists of those who have GREATER THAN 70% illegitimate births, and it's "a wonderful idea" that they be rewarded with taxpayer money handed to them!
It really is past time to take back our government, and limit the federal government to those things specifically authorized in the Constitution; a common defense, and regulation of interstate commerce.
And the liberal concept of government as the workplace of God needs to be challenged; "Congress shall make no laws ....." Etc.
when I (and this witch clinton) was in elementary school we took our nickles and dimes to school and bought stamps for savings-bond booklets we all had. $18.75 to fill a book to get a real bond that reached maturity in (I think) 7 yrs to $25.00. This was a different program than the “War Bonds” of WWII.
NBD at the time, except that I/we learned to save some of the money that I made by shoveling snow and mowing lawns as a profitable investment.
Put her under oath and she'll forget it!
Hillary just wants all of them to say “Yas Maam Massa...I’m a gonna vote for you”
She does pray folks, unlike Pelosi her prayers are real. She prays for the majority on the left to stay ignorant of the truth, dependant on government and willing to bow to her royal highness for al things green...like cash.
Since John Edwards says every African-American man will soon be dead or in jail, I assmume we can distribute their $5000 bonds amongst the rest of us.
What a great idea, just like the debit cards they gave to the Katrina victims. Now the new moms and dads will be able to get the things that they can’t afford for their baby like jewelry, liquor, lap dances, etc. just like the Katrina victims used their cards for. My question is who puts these ideas in that woman’s head? She must have a crack whore on her payroll somewhere.
Two quick questions:
Who gets the money if the kid doesn’t go to college?
Who manages the money until the kid is of age to go to college?
Then let Time magazine pay for it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.