Democrat Clinton to propose plan to protect small businesses
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Thursday will unveil proposals to help small businesses fight fraudulent practices by larger firms, tactics her campaign will compare to the business record of her Republican rival, Donald Trump. The plan would enhance legal protections for small businesses when large firms don't pay their bills, increase federal regulatory enforcement, and expand working capital for small businesses, according to a Clinton official. The proposal comes a day after Clinton, in Atlantic City, lambasted Trump for what she described as profiting from exploiting workers in the slumping seaside town. A Reuters special report last year found Trump sometimes refuses to pay bills from contractors he has hired and then forces them to negotiate the final figure down. The new plan from the former secretary of state highlights a major division in the Democratic and Republican campaigns for the Nov. 8 presidential election. Trump, a New York real estate developer, often highlights his businesses as among his biggest qualifications for office, promising to do for the country what he says he has done for his companies. But Clinton and others have harshly criticized Trump's business practices and argue that running a country is a far different proposition from running a private enterprise. Clinton and several campaign surrogates will take her new small business proposal to 10 states, including key election battlegrounds of Florida and Nevada, pointing to Donald Trump's Atlantic City casino bankruptcies as a warning sign for voters. (Reporting by Luciana Lopez; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
