I'll be a President who stands up for working parents:
- We'll require employers to provide seven paid sick days each year.
- We'll enforce laws that prohibit caregiver discrimination.
- And we'll encourage flexible work schedules to better balance work and parenting for mothers and fathers.
Strict Reform of Mortgage Lending Abuse, Help for Homeowners
We also need a housing market that is honest, open and accountable. I've introduced a bill in the Senate that cracks down on mortgage fraud.
As President, I'll get tough on enforcement and raise penalties on lenders who have broken the rules. For homeowners facing foreclosure through no fault of their own, we'll create a fund and reform bankruptcy laws to give them a shot at avoiding foreclosure.
We'll mandate that prospective homebuyers have access to accurate and complete information about their mortgage options.
And we'll give middle class homeowners added relief by providing a tax credit that covers 10 percent of a family's mortgage interest payment each year. That's the change that America's homeowners need.
Establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights
Since many people who hold subprime mortgages are shifting their debt to credit cards, we have to make sure that they understand their commitments - otherwise credit cards could be the next stage in the subprime crisis.
To make sure that Americans know what they're signing up for, I'll institute a five-star rating system to inform consumers about the level of risk involved in every credit card.
And we'll establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights that will:
- ban unilateral changes to a credit card agreement;
- ban rate changes to debt that's already incurred; and
- ban interest on late fees.
Change the Unjust U.S. Bankruptcy Laws
This same principle of fairness is needed in our bankruptcy laws.
For far too long, the same politicians in Washington who have been cutting back the safety net for working people have been protecting golden parachutes for the well-off - so workers lose their pensions and their health care, while CEOs get multi-million dollar payoffs.
I fought against a bankruptcy reform bill in the Senate that did more to protect credit card companies and banks than to help working people. I'll continue the fight for good bankruptcy laws as President.
No more bonuses for executives while pensions disappear. We'll press firms to put more money into their pension funds, and require firms to disclose their pension fund investments. And we'll increase the amount of wages and benefits that workers can claim in bankruptcy court. That's the change we need in our bankruptcy laws.
And if you can demonstrate that you went bankrupt because of medical expenses, then there must be a process that relieves that debt and lets you get back on your feet.
I don't accept an America where we let someone go over a cliff just because they get sick. That is not who we are.
Health Care Bill that Cuts Famiy Premiums by $2500
Every four years politicians come before you to talk about health care. You hear the same promises. And then you see the same results. Well it's time to end the outrage of 47 million uninsured Americans.
It's time to finally do something about it. I reformed health care in Illinois, and I didn't do it alone - I did it by reaching out to Democrats and Republicans. We took on the insurance industry, and we won.
That's how I'll pass a universal health care bill that cuts a typical family's premiums by up to $2500. And mark my words - I will sign this bill by the end of my first term as President. That's the change that America is waiting for.
And health care isn't the only cost that we're not keeping up with. Americans who work hard their entire lives have earned a secure retirement. But right now, we've got 75 million working people in this country who don't have employer-based retirement plans. Personal saving is at an all-time low. A part of the American dream is at risk.
Employers Required to Set-up Retirement Accounts
That's why I'll establish an automatic workplace pension policy. Employers will be required to enroll workers in a direct deposit retirement account that places a small percentage of each paycheck into the account. Then you'll have the choice of opting out, matching, or adding to this account.
When you change jobs, your savings will roll over into your new employer's system, or into a system that you control if you leave the workplace or become self-employed.
And the federal government will match savings for working families. This will dramatically increase the number of Americans who save for retirement, and lift up the amount of savings in this country. That's the change we need to help Americans achieve the retirement they are working for.
Strengthening Public Education
But we need to do more than put the American dream on a firmer foundation. Every American has the right to pursue their dreams. But we also have the responsibility to make sure that our children can reach a little further and rise a little higher than we did.
When I am President, we will stop passing bills called No Child Left Behind that leave the money behind, and start making real investments in education.
That means early childhood education.
That means recruiting an army of new teachers, and paying them better, and supporting them more so they're not just teaching to test, but teaching to teach.
(See Barack Obama in 2008 Info Hub and News Center.)
