As New Hampshire’s governor, I ran on a simple platform: keep an eye on the state’s bottom line while still looking out for the people I represented. It was a principle I had employed in my own business career: working hard to save struggling companies and making sure workers benefited from the turnaround. Throughout my time in the public and private sectors, we proved that smart economics can benefit the many as well as the few.
In all his years in business, however, Donald Trump never learned that lesson.
Donald Trump has filed for bankruptcy six times. According to CNN Money, “no major U.S. company has filed for Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) more than Trump’s casino empire in the last 30 years.”
Trump’s intentions for the United States belie a lack of understanding for the nuts and bolts of what makes America’s economy great – and a deep commitment to tax breaks for the wealthy. Moody’s Analytics says his plans would cost 3.5 million American jobs, spurring a downturn that would last longer than the Great Recession.
By contrast, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine have plans that would, according to Moody’s, create 10.4 million jobs and accelerate GDP growth beyond current estimates. Using analyses similar to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the Federal Reserve, Moody’s also concluded that her immigration, infrastructure and labor policies would boost the national economy and bring more people into the workforce.
Hillary recognizes that it’s time to put people to work while rebuilding communities. Her plan to create jobs wouldn’t just mean creating over 43,000 new jobs for Granite Staters, but would also mean repairing our weathered roads and bridges, cutting red tape for small businesses and finishing the job of connecting all New Hampshire families to high-speed broadband access. These investments will create good-paying jobs for our state today and create a foundation for our state’s future success.
Her plan to get the economy working for everyone embodies the forward-looking vision we need from our leaders, and an understanding of the successes we can build upon to move our state and nation forward. Under a Hillary Clinton presidency, we can set and achieve bold goals, like generating enough clean renewable energy to power every home in America within a decade – including each one of New Hampshire’s 500,000 homes. We have the opportunity to be the clean energy superpower of the 21st century – we just need a president with the leadership to make that happen.
The path to job creation that Hillary has laid out would empower new entrepreneurs to innovate and create the good-paying jobs of tomorrow. Her plan will invest an additional $1.8 million per year in research and development projects born in our state. I’ve seen first-hand the ingenuity that Granite Staters possess, and I can confidently say that Hillary’s plan fosters that creativity and harnesses that innovative spirit.
Another linchpin of Hillary Clinton’s economic plan – one that is not always mentioned in discussions revolving around job creation – is her commitment to education. Education drives job creation. The more we can do to put college and higher education within reach for our young people, the greater opportunity every person has to get a good education – regardless of his or her ZIP code, the more jobs we will create. Hillary Clinton’s “New College Compact,” which specifically outlines how we can ensure debt-free college is very encouraging to those of us who believe that bettering New Hampshire’s education system will result in a more educated workforce and thus more high-skill jobs.
Simply put, Hillary’s priorities are right where they should be. She will work to keep us on a path to a stronger future, in which middle class families feel the impact of our economic prosperity. We can all share in this country’s success – and Hillary believes that deeply.
Trump is entitled to take risks with his own businesses – although the record shows that working people have consistently paid the price for his risks – but I do strongly believe that he himself is too big of a risk for our country and our state to take. He is unqualified for the position he seeks.
Businesses – and businesspeople – can be successful without preying on others. I’ve lived that belief throughout my career, in and out of government: despite economic challenges, my administration ensured New Hampshire government never stopped working for its people. So I know that that kind of success isn’t easy; it takes creativity, compassion and hard work.
Throughout her career, Hillary has demonstrated that she is capable of helping others and achieving results. I urge my fellow Granite Staters to help me ensure that on Nov. 8, we elect a president who has the vision to move our state forward and the policy expertise to deliver.
(John Lynch, who served as governor from 2005 to 2013, lives in Hopkinton.)