Clinton told to ‘tie her shoe’

Presidential candidate addresses health care, retirement and other issues in Webster City

By JANE CURTIS, Messenger staff writer
WEBSTER CITY — Hillary Clinton was reminded Tuesday that even an undone shoelace can somehow be tied to the health care issue.

On the Webster City stop of her campaign’s Middle Class Express, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president was asked by an audience member if she had any plans to put limits on future campaigning if she’s elected.

‘‘Because we are spending millions and millions and millions,’’ the questioner explained. ‘‘We’ve been at this, in Iowa especially, a year,’’ said the man, adding, ‘‘And lastly, would you tie your shoe so you don’t trip over it?’’

The audience roared and Clinton, delighted, laughed.

‘‘I might need health care. I bought these at the Fort Dodge Museum and Gift Shop,” she said, referring to the Fort Museum and Frontier Village. “They are so comfortable.’’

Then, proving that even a candidate seeking the highest office in the United States can take a bit of friendly advice, she sat down and tied her shoelace. The audience loved it.

Clinton walked into a packed Fuller Hall and immediately chipped away at the existing administration’s spending priorities and decision-making habits, offering up to the eager crowd her economic blueprint, in general, and her American Retirement Account proposal, specifically. Billed as a 401(k) plan for all Americans, Clinton’s plan would have the federal government match a portion of a private citizen’s savings, dollar for dollar, with a refundable tax credit.

It’s a way to help people save, Clinton explained, adding that saving is something many people are unable to do in the current economic climate.

‘‘Even for those who have access to a retirement plan, not nearly enough of them are encouraged or given the opportunity to save,’’ Clinton told her audience. ‘‘So we’ve got a lot of workers — more than half in America right now — without any employer-based retirement savings account, including 770,000 workers right here in Iowa.’’

When it came time for questions, Anne Karbula Nielsen, a salon owner from Webster City, introduced herself and her husband Todd.

‘‘We’re both self-employed, so we struggle,’’ said Nielsen. ‘‘I’ve been in business for 10 years on my own. And probably for the first five years of owning my business I Ö had no health coverage. We struggle exactly like many other Americans, where we have nothing left. Our (health insurance) premiums — what we pay every month — are just — it’s upsetting to me that the insurance companies dictate how much I have to pay and then, also in turn, dictate which drugs that I can take.’’

For example, she said, her husband had been prescribed a medication by a doctor, but the insurance company told them to use a cheaper generic drug instead. The generic wasn’t available in time-release formulation, something her husband needed, she explained.

‘‘Not only do we pay what they demand,’’ said Nielsen, ‘‘but we can’t even, for ourselves, decide what we need to do.’’ That, she said, ‘‘is very frustrating to us.’’

‘‘And it should be frustrating,’’ said Clinton. ‘‘Part of my plan is to make it very clear to insurance companies that they have to offer insurance to everyone, they cannot exclude on the basis of pre-existing conditions, they can no longer make money by trying to prevent people from getting insurance — or pricing it so high that they can’t afford it — or them arguing with doctors and hospitals about what they will pay for it.’’

She added, ‘‘If insurance companies want to remain in business under my plan, they’re going to have to change the way they do business.’’

The audience liked that. After they’d filed out of the hour-long event, Nielsen was asked if she planned on voting for Clinton.

‘‘Well, I’m leaning that way,’’ she said. ‘‘I’m a registered Republican, so I have not been completely happy with everybody that’s out there. And I’ve been lately interested in what Hillary had to say, and that’s why I came today.’’

Asked what she needed to see in a candidate to convince her 100 percent that the person would represent her interests, Nielsen responded, ‘‘That they have really strong follow-through. That they’re not just standing up there saying what they think we want to hear. That they’re actually going to act on the things that concern most working-class Americans like me.’’

And maybe, too, that they tie their shoes.



Contact Jane Curtis at (515) 573-2141 or editor@messengernews.net />