NP: Dennis Chambers, The Jazz Times Superband

I've seen generally positive reviews of Hillary Clinton's health care proposal, but in reading through McClatchy's article on her retirement plan proposal, I can't help thinking that it's both a dud and a real risk to her campaign.

The price tag is the first red flag, obviously. She says she can pay for it, but hanging your hat on too many big, expensive programs is going to be dangerous. Of course, there are probably many big, expensive programs that need doing, but it still seems dangerous. If not in the primary, certainly in the general election.

The bigger issue, for me, is that this seems like a redundant appendage at best, nanny-state nagging at worst. The whole thing still seems to hinge on an explicit choice to save money on the part of the American taxpayer, and I don't know that a maximum of $1,000 in matching funds per year is enough of an incentive to fundamentally change the behavior of a populace that's dead set on not saving. So what you end up with is Hillary Clinton telling you what to do with your money because you're wasting it, and that could be a pretty compelling image for any opponent who wanted to run with it.

Of course, this is based on a very cursory read, but that's the immediate reaction I had.