WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered a glimpse of her possible campaign platform during a speech on Monday, arguing that there needs to be a renewed focus on expanding the middle class in cities.
Clinton made the comments during a panel at the Center for American Progress on Monday, flanked by CAP President Neera Tanden, President of the American Federation of Teachers Union President Randi Weingarten, and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro. Much of Clinton’s comments focused on inequality in urban areas.
“It used to be that jobs were moving out of cities and suburbs and into rural areas. That trend is reversing,” Clinton said. “A lot of our cities are divided. They have a lot of inequality that has only gotten worse, they have some of the most dynamic, most well-educated people, affluent people in the world and people who are trapped in generational poverty and whose skills are not keeping up with what the jobs of today and tomorrow demand.”
Clinton argued that there needs to be more done to incentivize families, especially those with young children, to stay in cities, including providing more affordable housing.
“What do we do to better equip the people to take the jobs, and how do we keep the middle class in cities where they want to stay?” Clinton asked. “They don’t want to leave. They’re being priced out.”
In her comments, Clinton lauded New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s work on expanding pre-kindergarten education in the city. “I’m very much a supporter of what Mayor de Blasio did in New York to create Pre-K access for every young child in New York, regardless of who that young child is or who his parents are.”
Clinton’s comments on Monday echo ones she made twenty days ago at an EMILY’s List event where she bashed Republicans’ emphasis on inequality as insincere.
