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 Striking a populist note, Clinton, who announced on Sunday she was
running for president in 2016, said American families were still
facing financial hardship at a time "when the average CEO makes
about 300 times what the average worker makes."
In a tightly scripted campaign launch in which there were few
surprises, the comments were unexpected, at least by progressives,
who saw them as an early sign she may shift away from the centrist
economic policies pursued by her husband, former President Bill
Clinton.
“I definitely see the push from the left wing, which I think is
great,” said Jared Milrad, a Clinton supporter who appeared in a
video launching her campaign for the presidency.
Milrad said he saw the populist rhetoric as a sign that Clinton "has
been listening" to backers such as himself who want her to embrace
some of the economic policies pushed by Senator Elizabeth Warren, a
hero of liberal Democrats. Warren favors tighter regulation of big
banks and a bolstering of the social safety net.
PAY GAP WIDENING
The enthusiasm of some progressives was tempered by the fact that
they have yet to see the details of Clinton's policy proposals.
“So far we don’t know very much,” said Zephyr Teachout, a one-time
New York gubernatorial candidate. “I hope Clinton clarifies where
she stands on these issues.”
Leo Gerard, international president for the United Steelworkers
union, was also guarded.
"I think it's too early to make any judgments on what I would call
the very short opening statement, and we'll see what happens as we
go forward," Gerard told reporters at a conference of the BlueGreen
Alliance, a coalition of large labor unions and environmental
groups.
The gap between the pay of chief executives from major corporations
has skyrocketed over the past several decades. In 1965, CEOs earned
about 20 times what a typical worker brought home, according to
research by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank. In
2013, CEO compensation was nearly 300 times the pay of the average
worker, the EPI study said.
Economic inequality has been a top campaign theme for Democrats for
the past several years, including for President Barack Obama. While
he often talks about the need to address economic inequality, he is
frequently cautious about appearing to lash out at corporations and
their executives.
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In 2009, for example, he bashed "fat cat" Wall Street bankers for
accepting big pay packages in the aftermath of the 2007-2009
financial crisis at a time when many Americans were suffering
hardship. Faced with a barrage of criticism from Republicans, Obama
stressed he was not anti-business.
Obama's efforts to walk a fine line on economic populism highlight
the balancing act that Clinton will face. While such rhetoric stirs
enthusiasm on the left, she risks irking wealthy donors, including
her backers on Wall Street.
Clinton supporters on Wall Street reacted with equanimity on Monday
when asked about her vow to level the playing field for the middle
class.
"She will address inequality. The mistake would be to just assume
that that’s populist," said Lynn Forester de Rothschild, the CEO of
the family investment company E.L. Rothschild and a Clinton
supporter.
"If rich people are not worried about today's levels of income
inequality, then they are stupid," she said.
Paul Beirne, a principal at Bernstein Global Wealth Management who
supports Clinton, said there had been some movement toward better
accountability in CEO pay, but more work was needed.
(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton in Washington and Jonathan
Allen in New York, editing by Ross Colvin)
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