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Transcript of what Hillary Clinton told the Newsday editorial board
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton sat down with the Newsday editorial board on Monday, April 11. Here is a full transcript of the visit.
Amanda Fiscina: So, one of the first people to submit this morning was a someone named Nancy from Merrick on Long Island. And she wrote to us that "Like Hillary, like Secretary Clinton, I'm a grandmother. I'm struggling to be able to one day retire and stay in Nassau County. I've worked forever, saved, done all of the right things. I'm single with no pension. And I pay among the highest property taxes in the nation, but I would love to be able to stay where I've grew up." And we would like to ask, what would a presidency of yours do for voters like Nancy?
Clinton: Well, first, let me say to Nancy, and to all of you, that what she has just described is a really serious problem with an increasing number of people affected by it, because the cost of living, she mentioned property taxes are, in many parts of New York and other states as well, making it increasingly difficult for older people to stay in their homes. The cost is just unsustainable. And although property taxes historically have been, and remain, a state and local responsibility, I think we have to take a hard look at what we are doing to everybody, but particularly, to older people. We have done away with defined-benefit pensions, moved to 401(k)s. That has proven to be a very difficult transition for a lot of people.
We have a bifurcated system, if you will, on Social Security. If she's single, but she has grandchildren, maybe she's a widow, maybe she's divorced, but it's really hard to maintain your standard of living in a high-cost place, like many areas in Long Island, Westchester, etc., on what Social Security provides. So if she doesn't have a pension, which most workers now do not, or if they do, they're not predictable because they're no longer defined benefits. Then she is going to rely, when she retires, it sounds like, on Social Security, which is unlikely to provide the kind of monthly benefit that will enable her to maintain a home, pay the property taxes, all the costs of having a home on Long Island. So, the short answer is: We have to look at how we create a more robust retirement safety net and support system for people.
Now that should be true generally, but I am especially conscious, having lived in New York all these years, represented you for eight years, that the burden falls particularly heavily on older women living in high-cost areas. So I want to increase benefits under Social Security. I want to support strongly the new rule that just came out in the Department of Labor so that people who are investing their 401(k)s can count on the investor adviser having their best interests in mind, because we're seeing a lot of the deterioration of 401(k)s and generally try to figure out what we can do to mitigate against high costs of living. Now it's a particular problem in New York. I live in Westchester, which, depending on what survey you look at, has the highest property taxes, or Nassau County, right. . .
Clinton: Well, first, let me say to Nancy, and to all of you, that what she has just described is a really serious problem with an increasing number of people affected by it, because the cost of living, she mentioned property taxes are, in many parts of New York and other states as well, making it increasingly difficult for older people to stay in their homes. The cost is just unsustainable. And although property taxes historically have been, and remain, a state and local responsibility, I think we have to take a hard look at what we are doing to everybody, but particularly, to older people. We have done away with defined-benefit pensions, moved to 401(k)s. That has proven to be a very difficult transition for a lot of people.
We have a bifurcated system, if you will, on Social Security. If she's single, but she has grandchildren, maybe she's a widow, maybe she's divorced, but it's really hard to maintain your standard of living in a high-cost place, like many areas in Long Island, Westchester, etc., on what Social Security provides. So if she doesn't have a pension, which most workers now do not, or if they do, they're not predictable because they're no longer defined benefits. Then she is going to rely, when she retires, it sounds like, on Social Security, which is unlikely to provide the kind of monthly benefit that will enable her to maintain a home, pay the property taxes, all the costs of having a home on Long Island. So, the short answer is: We have to look at how we create a more robust retirement safety net and support system for people.
Now that should be true generally, but I am especially conscious, having lived in New York all these years, represented you for eight years, that the burden falls particularly heavily on older women living in high-cost areas. So I want to increase benefits under Social Security. I want to support strongly the new rule that just came out in the Department of Labor so that people who are investing their 401(k)s can count on the investor adviser having their best interests in mind, because we're seeing a lot of the deterioration of 401(k)s and generally try to figure out what we can do to mitigate against high costs of living. Now it's a particular problem in New York. I live in Westchester, which, depending on what survey you look at, has the highest property taxes, or Nassau County, right. . .
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/hillary-clinton-at-newsday-long-island-transcript-1.11680010
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