Rubio Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is working to amp up his appeal to working-class families, young adults and single mothers, with his latest in a series of policy addresses outlining a vision that he says will make the American dream become possible.
The senator, speaking to a group of young Republicans Wednesday at Hillsdale College's Capitol Hill campus, said his domestic policy differs from Democrats who want to throw money at problems and from Republicans focused on "big business," reports
Politico.
"We will either adapt to the new era and bring about another American century or, like so many nations before us, our inability to address new realities will usher in our decline," said Rubio.
"Our success will not be measured simply by the size of our economy or the performance of our stocks. Rather, it will depend on whether Americans … will get the real chance to earn for themselves a better life, on whether the American dream becomes possible for them the way it has been for so many before.”
Rubio's reform agenda includes making changes to the tax code, education and the war on poverty, and many of his proposals have already been outlined in other speeches.
On Wednesday, the potential 2016 presidential candidate spelled out the agenda using examples of single mother "Kristeen," recent college graduates "Evan and Jennifer," and the young family of “Daniel and Becky Broyles."
Single moms would benefit, Rubio said, by his goal is consolidate all federal poverty programs into one fund to disburse to states. He also wants to change the Earned Tax Credit so that it's added to people's wages to supplement their income, and to increase the tax credits for their children.
As far as college graduates are concerned, Rubio said he and Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden have a bill that requires they be told how much their degrees will increase their earnings. In addition, he said he favors income-based student loan repayment for new graduates.
Families will benefit from a proposal to make their business investments be deductible and to open up the federal government's retirement savings program to all, Rubio said. Further, he wants to boost Social Security and Medicare by raising eligibility ages.
And like most other potential 2016 Republican candidates, Rubio said Obamacare must go.
"Obamacare’s a disaster. But the answer is not to simply return to the way things were before," Rubio said. "The answer is to repeal and replace Obamacare with modern, market-centered reforms."
The liberal PAC American Bridge said Wednesday it isn't buying Rubio's efforts to appeal to the working class, reports
Sunshine State News, slamming him for backing a budget plan by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and opposing extending unemployment benefits. Further, the PAC called his speech as "phony as it is calculated."
"Rubio has consistently advocated against policies that support working-class families, including the minimum wage and the extension of unemployment benefits,” the PAC said in a statement. "With so many attacks on the middle class -- including his support for the Ryan budget and the sequester -- we can't be exactly sure which impacts he means."
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Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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