Ann Lewis

Income inequality is a leading issue in this presidential campaign, which is excellent. Some in the media seem to think Hillary Clinton is new or insufficiently committed to solving this problem. As someone who’s known Hillary for a very long time, that’s an impression I’m happy to correct.

Remember, this is the same woman who spent a summer during law school investigating the working conditions of migrant farm workers, compiling evidence to hold their bosses accountable for their health and safety.

She’s the same woman who, after graduating from one of the best law schools in the world, at Yale, walked right past all the big corporate firms on her way to the Children’s Defense Fund. Her salary was considerably smaller, but she found her reward in serving America’s poorest and most vulnerable.

Of course, inequality in our country isn’t just economic – it has a long history of being racial, too. That’s why Hillary went undercover in Alabama, posing as a young mom trying to find an all-white school for her child to prove that segregation still persisted and to end the tax-exempt status enjoyed by schools that discriminated against African-American kids.

As a young lawyer, she went door to door in New Bedford, Mass., interviewing kids who weren’t in school because they were disabled. Her work helped lead to the passage of a national law guaranteeing the right of all children to be educated in public schools.

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In Arkansas, even before she and Bill got married, Hillary started the legal aid clinic and prisons project at the University of Arkansas. Later, as the first lady of Arkansas, she worked to create a development bank and a microloan program that made loans available to state's poorest citizens. She got the idea from the renowned Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, and proved it could work just as well for rural Arkansans. She did the same with an Israeli early childhood education program for low-income families – she imported it to America, and today it’s serving kids in 22 states.

After Bill Clinton’s election, Hillary brought that passion for helping low-income and vulnerable children to the White House. She tried to end the health disparities affecting low-income families by fighting for national health-care reform. When that failed, she helped pass the Children’s Health Insurance Program. That legislation still provides a safety net for millions of low-income kids.

In the Senate, Hillary worked to give Americans the tools and opportunities they need to lift themselves and their families up. She sponsored legislation to crack down on subprime mortgages and to protect vulnerable families from predatory bankers and lenders. She called for closing the carried interest loophole, a glaring imbalance that allows some hedge fund managers to pay a lower tax rate on their income than teachers. She worked nonstop to bring investment to struggling upstate communities, connecting farms with New York City restaurants and small businesses with broadband internet. And she co-sponsored the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a major step toward ensuring that women finally receive equal pay.

Then there’s her work as secretary of state. Hillary started an initiative to combat hunger and help farmers in underdeveloped nations. She advocated passionately for the human rights of women, LGBT people and ethnic and religious minorities. She even took on the overlooked problem of dirty indoor cook stoves, a leading cause of death worldwide, especially for the women and girls who tend the fires all day. Efforts like these may not make headlines, but they make life better for millions.

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When I look Hillary’s career in public service, I see addressing income inequality as the theme of her life’s work. It may not have always had that label, but at every step of her journey, she’s tried to make our economy and our country – and world – fairer, so all the wealth and opportunities don't go only to those at the top.

I know that news analysts have a job to do. They seek contrast and stoke controversy at every turn. But the truth is that Hillary has a long record of fighting on behalf of people who have been left out or left behind. She hasn’t just talked about change. She’s delivered it.

Income inequality is – rightly – the issue of the moment. For Hillary Clinton, it’s been the cause of a lifetime.

Ann Lewis is a veteran Democratic strategist who was a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign and 2008 presidential campaign. She has known Clinton for more than 20 years.

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