NH Now: Democratic Contender Martin O’Malley Waits for an Opportunity to Break Out

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Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has lately made some progress in the polls. His name recognition has gone from virtually zero to 4-5%. With only 15-20% of voters firmly decided on their candidate at this point, that gives O’Malley hope that he can make some in roads into the current support for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. He joined Chris Ryan on the campaign trail in Manchester to discuss his views on social security, student debt, income inequality, and foreign policy.

Governor O’Malley favors an expansion of Social Security. He cited that in the past, workers depended on a three legged stool approach to funding their retirement–employer pension, savings, and social security. Today, for many workers those other legs are gone and Social Security is all that’s left. He would expand Social Security by increasing the average benefit. He would pay for it by scraping the $250,000 income cap.

O’Malley differed with Bernie Sanders’ plan for free college education. The former governor said that having the federal government write a check for college education for all is unsustainable. O’Malley favors improved cooperation among the three institutions involved–the federal government, state governments, and higher education. He offered several ways that colleges could make education more affordable such as, blended and hybrid learning, availability of more on-line courses, and more testing to verify that the student has gained the competencies that go with the degree.

Governor O’Malley favors polices that will bring about “a sensible rebalancing for the common good that we all share.” He feels that our current tax system only benefits our wealthiest citizens. As an example, he points out that investment income is taxed at a much lower rate than wage income. He also wants to return to basic Democrat policies in order to increase the wages of our workers. O’Malley believes that changes have somehow come to the workplace. We have moved away from having the minimum wage above the poverty line, getting overtime pay for overtime work, and being able to form or join a labor union.

In the area of foreign policy, Martin O’Malley has some agreements and some differences with President Obama. O’Malley is in favor of the treaty with Iran. He is in favor of collaborating and engaging with like minded countries, especially in this hemisphere. he would also seek to strengthen and form alliances with countries in the South China Sea..