In Omaha, Hillary Clinton promises to expand Buffett rule
OMAHA, Nebraska-- Standing alongside billionaire Warren Buffett at the Sokol Auditorium in his hometown, Clinton signaled Wednesday that she is prepared to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
"Right now, there has been too much that has led to the wealthy getting wealthier at the expense of hardworking families," Clinton said. "That's not the way we're going to keep America going and growing."
Specifically, Clinton said that her tax plan, which she is set to roll out in the new year, would build on the Buffett rule, the plan named for Buffett and proposed by President Barack Obama that would require those who earn $1 million a year pay an effective tax rate of at least 30 percent.
"I'm going to fight hard to implement the Buffett rule," she said. "I want to go even further."
Clinton has laid out a slate of policy proposals, like her plan for a national infrastructure bank, that would require significant new spending and, at the same time, Clinton has pledged not to raise taxes on any American who earns less than $250,000 a year. It's a promise that she says she is the only Democratic candidate to make.
Clinton's appearance with Buffett, who also attended a fundraiser for the candidate on Wednesday, comes less than two months before the first votes of the election will be cast next door in Iowa.
In his introduction, Warren cited Internal Revenue Service statistics that show that the incomes of the wealthiest Americans increased sevenfold between 1992 and 2012.
"The game has been stacked in their direction," he said, borrowing a metaphor that Clinton often uses on the campaign trail. "That's a primary reason...why I'm going to be so delighted when Secretary Clinton takes the Oval Office."
Buffett joked that Nebraska wouldn't be in "play" in 2016 -- it's a reliably Republican state that hasn't voted for the Democratic presidential candidate since 1964. But Buffett said it was "really important" that Nebraskans in the audience reach out to their neighbors and relatives about voting.
"Get them to the polls on Election Day," he said.
Nebraska won't hold its Democratic caucus until March 5, but there's still a good reason to campaign there now -- which former Sen. Bob Kerrey pointed out in a Bloomberg Politics article. "The Omaha media market is one third of Iowa," said Kerrey.