It’s fair to expect that candidates (and their staff) should demonstrate fiscal responsibility in handling campaign finances. We have a $9+ trillion federal debt and counting that the next president will need to tackle. And yet, Hillary can’t help but stay in the red.
It seems she owes everybody money.
The Politico.com website reported that if she had paid off the $8.7 million in unpaid bills and not loaned her campaign $5 million, she would have had less than $2 million available for this month. Mr Obama would still have had $31 million cash-in-hand even if he had paid off the $625,000 owed to creditors.
Mrs Clinton’s biggest debts are to her pollsters, strategists and advertising consultants. She also has hundreds of outstanding bills for catering, security, printing and hiring venues. By the end of February, her campaign had not, for instance, reimbursed the Hy-Vee chain for making thousands of sandwiches on the night of the Iowa caucuses.
Her professional team hasn’t been doing a very good job of developing a winning campaign if her recent ratings are anything to go by, so I accept stiffing them. But the hundreds of small business owners that you want voting for you in the primaries and general election, maybe it’s not so good to spite them. Or like delegates from sparsely populated states, in Clinton’s mind small business owners don’t count?
In more ironic news, mandatory universal health care proponent Clinton hasn’t been paying the fees for her staff’s insurance lately.
But the unpaid bills to Aetna were at least two months old, according to FEC filings.
They show the campaign ended last year owing Aetna more than $213,000 for “employee benefits.”
During the first two months of the year, the campaign did not pay down any of that debt. In fact, it accrued another $16,000 in unpaid bills last month, and it finished the month owing Aetna $229,000.
I realize money is tight, but any bills related to one of her defining platforms, should probably take priority. Otherwise it looks as though she holds herself to a separate standard than she wants every other American to abide by.
While I’d like to hold out hope that Clinton will get her finances in order in April, it seems more likely that her team will continue to overlook the cracks in the foundation her Presidential bid is built on.
Update 9:16pm: Went to a networking party this evening and chatted about this issue with a forensic accountant who was born in Persia. He feels I should give Clinton the benefit of the doubt. She’s playing to win, and in the end all of her debts will be paid. It’s part of American culture to believe that if you build it, people will come. For Clinton, she’s spending extravagantly to score the nomination. He also noted that her husband is basically her collateral; she’s a good risk because Bill’s earning power means she can make good on the money she owes either way.
Your thoughts?
Recent Comments