Published: March 29, 2008 09:40 pm      

Economy on the menu for Sen. Clinton’s visit to New Albany

Presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, visited New Albany Saturday and told a packed audience how she plans to turn the economy around in Indiana and beyond if elected president in November.

Clinton, who is seeking the Democratic Party nomination, was greeted by hundreds of enthusiastic crowd members gathered outside the South Side Inn restaurant along Main Street in New Albany. She spent about an hour having a “Hoosiers on the Economy” roundtable inside, which featured several area business professionals, and then answered a few questions from the audience.

Much of her talk had to do with repairing the damage she believes the current Republican administration, headed by President George W. Bush, has caused. The main issues she addressed were the current real estate crisis, skyrocketing oil prices and health care.

Clinton has visited Indiana twice in her campaign, and was to visit Louisville after the New Albany roundtable.

“I’ve heard a lot about what’s on the minds of Hoosiers,” she said.

She said major concerns raised include jobs, economy, health care, the war in Iraq, college affordability and foreclosures.

“The housing market has fallen in value largely due to the failure of the government to deal with the sub-prime mortgage crisis,” Clinton said.

She said foreclosures are everyone’s problem in a community.

“A vacant home affects the whole neighborhood,” Clinton said. “It decreases home values, and undermines confidence [in a community].”

Clinton said if elected, she would work to put a moratorium on foreclosures and work with lenders to find equitable solutions.

“We can’t get out of the economic slowdown without addressing foreclosures,” Clinton said. “We need people to feel like they can buy [houses] again.”

Jeff Briscoe, who works at the Ford Truck Plant in Louisville, was one of the roundtable members. He has worked for the company for 12 years, but has been through periods of temporary layoffs recently. He attributes the issue to increased energy prices.

“Sometimes you have to rob Peter to pay Paul,” Briscoe said. “Oil companies make billions and we need to put a cap on our profits.”

Of Clinton, he said, “Maybe we can get this [economy] turned around a bit.”

Clinton pointed out that when Bush entered office seven years ago, oil prices were $20 a barrel. They are now $114 a barrel.

“Energy costs going up have raised the costs of everything,” Clinton said. “Everything is interconnected.”

Clinton said when her husband, former President Bill Clinton, was in office, he sold oil from the country’s Strategic Oil Reserve to help douse heating oil and gasoline prices. She said she would do the same if elected, and is committed to helping the country “not be addicted to foreign oil.” Clinton would also work to take tax subsidies away from oil companies.

“At some point, America needs to get on the American team again,” Clinton said.

She also noted that “no one understands as well as Hoosiers do” the importance of creating new jobs with rising wages, good benefits, and maintaining the automotive sector.

As for health care, Clinton said she would work to create a national system open to everyone.

“I think health care is a privilege, not a right,” Clinton said.

She also noted even the insured suffer difficulties affording health care, due to policy limitations, or getting the care they truly need.

“I am tired of insurance companies making life and death decisions that doctors and nurses should be making,” Clinton said.

Clinton noted people used to think Democrats were not as fiscally responsible as Republicans, but she feels the Bush administration has disproven that idea.

“We can sit around and wring our hands or start solving our problems,” Clinton said.

After the talk and question and answer period, Clinton spoke to some of the estimated 350 attendees, signed photos, and was ushered toward Louisville in a Chevrolet Suburban. As she passed the waiting crowd, controlled by physical barriers, police cars, police officers and Secret Service agents, she waved at the crowd as they held up signs and screamed her name.