FACTBOX: Presidential candidates' economic policy views

(Reuters) - The following are highlights from recent comments on economic policy from the top U.S. presidential candidates.

DEMOCRATS

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton

Clinton unveiled a plan she said would save $55 billion by taking on corporate interests such as drug companies, oil firms and Wall Street. The plan included a proposal to overhaul credit-card regulations to shield consumers from high fees and sudden rate hikes.

Clinton has proposed a retirement savings plan for lower- and middle-class families that would include tax credits as incentives for savings.

Her health-care plan would require all Americans to get health insurance. Under a public-private partnership, they would keep existing coverage or choose from private insurance options available to members of Congress. Individuals could also choose a public plan similar to Medicare.

On China, Clinton has said tougher import standards are necessary to keep consumers safe. "We also have to deal with their currency manipulation," she said.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama

Obama offered a plan that he said would create 5 million new jobs in the green energy sector and establish a infrastructure bank to spend $60 billion over a decade to repair deteriorating roads, bridges and waterways. He said he would pay for the plan by ending the Iraq war and raising taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans.

Obama has called for a refundable tax credit worth $4,000 for college tuition every year, and wants to automatically enroll workers in retirement plans to boost savings.

He has proposed a national public insurance program to allow individuals and small businesses to buy affordable health care similar to that available to federal employees.

He said if trade partners are manipulating their currency, "we take them to the mat on this issue. It means that we are also not running up deficits and asking China to bail us out and finance it, because it's pretty hard to have a tough negotiation when the Chinese are our bankers."

REPUBLICANS

Arizona Sen. John McCain

McCain has said opening new trade markets "is a key to U.S. economic success," but also advocates education and retraining for workers displaced by global trade.

Excessive government borrowing and deficit spending should be stopped, McCain has said. He has maintained that too much federal money is siphoned off "to satisfy special interests."

On health care, besides offering a refundable $2,500 tax credit, $5,000 for families, his plan would promote open health care markets by letting providers practice nationwide, rather than restricting them regionally.

McCain says taxes should be low, simple and fair and he advocates lower tax rates and spending cuts.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee

Huckabee has said the "greatest source of short-term stimulus is the Federal Reserve" but that the Fed also must be mindful of inflation.

Huckabee vowed to increase spending on both defense and public infrastructure.

He has promised to "preserve and expand" the Bush tax cuts and touts his "Fair Tax" plan, which would replace the income tax with a national sales tax.

Huckabee says the United States must fight unfair foreign competition that is costing American jobs, but globalization can be a "blessing" because it lowers prices of consumer goods. He criticizes China for manipulating its currency to boost exports and discourage imports.

(Compiled by JoAnne Allen; Editing by Alan Elsner)