(Clinton's financial advisor lives here)We mentioned this issue before, and it seems to have only gotten worse. I'd imagine in the unlikely event that Senator Clinton manages to win the Democratic nomination, there are already television ads created by the Republican National Committee on tap, drawing the worst sorts of parallels between the over-spending of Senator Clinton's campaign, and future tax increases. Even if the cliché about tax-and-spend isn't true anymore (Bush's budget's were horribly out-of-whack), they still will get trotted out anyway.
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s cash-strapped presidential campaign has been putting off paying hundreds of bills for months — freeing up cash for critical media buys but also earning the campaign a reputation as something of a deadbeat in some small-business circles.
A pair of Ohio companies owed more than $25,000 by Clinton for staging events for her campaign are warning others in the tight-knit event production community — and anyone else who will listen — to get their cash upfront when doing business with her. Her campaign, say representatives of the two companies, has stopped returning phone calls and e-mails seeking payment of outstanding invoices. One even got no response from a certified letter.
…
It’s not just the size of Clinton’s debts that’s noteworthy. It’s also that her unpaid bills extend beyond the realm of high-priced consultants who typically let bills slide as part of the cost of doing business with powerful clientele whose success is linked to their own.
Some of Clinton’s biggest debts are to pollster and chief strategist Mark Penn, who’s owed $2.5 million; direct mail company MSHC Partners, which is owed $807,000; phone-banking firm Spoken Hub, which is waiting for $771,000; and ad maker Mandy Grunwald, who’s owed $467,000.
Clinton also reported debts more than one month old to a slew of apolitical businesses and organizations, large and small, in the states through which this historically expensive Democratic primary campaign has raged.
[From Cash-strapped Clinton fails to pay bills - Kenneth P. Vogel - Politico.com]
Personally, I always try to negotiate payments of at least 50% upfront in questionable situations. Can't always insist upon it, but always ask at least.
Is being the Junior Senator from New York really so bad?
