Democrats have big plans for every age group. Republicans call that socialism.

[DonViejo]

Cycle of life: 2020 candidates have cradle-to-grave proposals for universal child care, tuition-free college and larger Social Security benefits.

March 3, 2019, 8:00 AM EST
By Benjy Sarlin

WASHINGTON — For everything there is a season, and for every stage of life there’s at least one Democratic presidential contender with a plan to address it.

From children to students to parents to retirees, the 2020 field is rallying behind an ambitious slate of economic ideas, many of which are targeted at specific parts of the life cycle.

For Democrats, the potential upside is clear. These proposals could give candidates a path to woo different constituencies, both in the primaries and the general election, with big-ticket promises that speak directly to voters' pocketbook concerns.

"What I'm saying is to promise everybody something," Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, founder of the liberal politics hub Daily Kos, told NBC News. "The Democratic Party is the party that should be delivering goodies for people, and it can do so."

At the same time, some in the party worry the micro-targeting of policy proposals also carries a risk of pitting generations against one another or undermining a broader economic message with a confusing array of narrow plans. And, on the GOP side, opponents see a chance to portray their ambition as too costly and radical.

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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/democrats-have-big-plans-every-age-group-republicans-call-socialism-n977891?cid=public-rss_20190303

[Hortensis]

1. This is an interesting article once one finishes battling to keep

the agitprop in the headline from being implanted in memory. "Out, damned spot!"

Of course, that's only for those who actually read the article and learn almost all plans discussed are not socialist at all, while a few are similar to socialism in the way Social Security is, but not true socialism.

The 2020 field is rallying behind an ambitious slate of economic ideas, many of which are targeted at specific parts of the life cycle.

Many of the leading 2020 candidates have named tuition-free or debt-free college as a goal. For parents of young children, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts released a new plan for universal child care this month. Another Democratic hopeful, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, and two who are considering running, Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Michael Bennet of Colorado, are proposing tax credits that benefit working families. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey is running on a pledge to enact a "baby bond" that every American would be able to redeem at age 18. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has made paid family leave one of the top issues in her presidential campaign, and former Housing Secretary Julián Castro promised "pre-K for the USA" in his own announcement speech.

For those not quite at retirement age, Brown has talked up allowing anyone over 50 to buy into Medicare, and he and several 2020 candidates, including Harris, Gillibrand, Warren and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, signed onto a bill this month that would permit it. For seniors, Warren was an early adopter of proposals to boost Social Security benefits, and she, Gillibrand, Sanders, Harris, Booker and Brown launched an "Expand Social Security Caucus" in September that backs related legislation.

Not all of these ideas are exclusive to a specific age. AARP has made student debt a priority issue in recent years, in part because it makes it harder for Baby Boomers who are paying for their children's education to retire. Child care and family leave affect multiple generations in the same household. But taken together, they represent a growing suite of high-dollar proposals with special appeal to voters in different phases of their lives.

[Nanjeanne]

2. Republicans will call anything Dems propose Socialism. It's their boogyman word. Obamacare, that

Heritage Foundation policy that gives taxpayer money to private insurance companies was called Socialism.

The Dems just need a more coherent and more consistent across the board positioning of what their plans actually are to counter what will be the Rs buzz word . . . Socialism.