Hillary Clinton said the richest Americans should “pay their fair share” Saturday during the Democratic debate, brushing off criticism of her ties to major corporations.
David Muir, one of ABC’s debate moderators, asked Clinton about a Fortune Magazine cover that said big business supported her during her unsuccessful 2008 run for president.
“Everybody should,” Clinton responded jokingly.
“I want to be the president for the struggling, the striving and the successful,” she said.
Clinton invoked the populism of Warren Buffett, a billionaire investor who has famously said he should not pay a lower tax rate than his secretary.
“I want the Buffett rule to be in effect, where millionaires have to pay 30 percent tax rates instead of 10 percent to nothing,” she said.
“If they want to be part of once again building our economy so it works for everybody, more power to them,” Clinton said of businesses that back her campaign. “They are the kind of business leaders that understand that if we don’t get the American economy healthy and growing, we’re not going to recognize our country and we’re not going to give our kids the same opportunities as we had.”
