CNBC 2015 GOP primary debate: on Government Reform


Ben Carson: Regulations cost small businesses $34,000 per employee

Presidential candidate Ben Carson called for fewer government regulations at the Oct. 28 Republican debate. Responding to a question posed about whether the government should regulate pharmaceutical prices, Carson pivoted to talk about federal regulation more generally, saying more government involvement means more problems: "The average small manufacturer, if they have less than 50 employees, the average cost in terms of regulations is $34,000 per employee."

Is that $34,000 correct? We found that Carson got the figure from a 2014 report commissioned by the National Association of Manufacturers--a group that advocates for regulatory reform. Many critics viewed the $34,000 as flawed because of the imprecise way the report calculated regulations cost in total, which came out to about $1.7 trillion. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service questioned the results in its own report.

Our ruling: Carson cited a report that's not necessarily reliable. We rate the claim Half True.

Source: PolitiFact fact-checking on GOP 2015 debate on CNBC Oct 30, 2015

Ben Carson: Regulations cost $34,000 per employee, hurting business

You think about the reasons that we're having such difficulty right now with our job market. The average small manufacturer, if they have less than 50 employees, the average cost in terms of regulations is $34,000 per employee. We are going to have to have a major reduction in the regulatory influence that's going on. The government is not supposed to be in every part of our lives, and that's what is causing the problem.
Source: GOP "Your Money/Your Vote" 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate Oct 28, 2015

Bobby Jindal: Cuts to reclaim American dream & end European-type nightmare

Why not cut spending? Why not a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution? $18 trillion dollars of debt. Record low participation rate in the workforce, record number of Americans on food stamps. We are going the way of Europe. The left is trying to turn the American Dream into the European Nightmare.
Source: GOP "Your Money/Your Vote" 2015 CNBC 2nd-tier debate Oct 28, 2015

Carly Fiorina: Corrupt federal bureaucracy works only for well-connected

I think these are serious times. 75 percent of the American people think the federal government is corrupt. I agree with them. And this big, powerful corrupt bureaucracy works now only for the big, the powerful, the wealthy and the well-connected. Meantime, wages have stagnated for 40 years. We have more Americans out of work, or just Americans who have quit looking for work. Ours was intended to be a citizen government. We need a leader who will help us take our government back.
Source: GOP "Your Money/Your Vote" 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate Oct 28, 2015

Donald Trump: SuperPACs are a disaster and cause dishonesty

I am the only campaign that's self-funding. I'm putting up 100% of my own money. And so far, I've put up less than anybody and I have the best results. Wouldn't that be nice if the country could do that?

I will be putting up tremendous amounts of money. SuperPACs are a disaster. They're a scam. They cause dishonesty. And you better get rid of them because they are causing a lot of bad decisions to be made by some very good people. And I'm not blaming these folks--well, I guess I could.

Source: GOP `Your Money/Your Vote` 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate Oct 28, 2015

Jeb Bush: The left's idea is always to create more government

We don't need the federal government to be involved in this [higher education] because when they do we create a $1.2 trillion debt. In Florida, we have the lowest in-state tuition of any state, because there's accountability. Let the states do this. You'll create a much better graduation rate at a lower cost. It's always a solution of the left to create more Government from the Federal Government. It is not working.
Source: GOP "Your Money/Your Vote" 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate Oct 28, 2015

John Kasich: Let states decide how to govern themselves, not DC

In order to get this economy moving again, I call for freezing regulations for a year except for the problem of public safety. I believe that we need to cut these taxes down, we need to be on a roadmap to balancing the budget, and we need to send power, money, and influence, the welfare department, the education department, job training, infrastructure, Medicaid, all of that out of Washington back to the states so we can run these programs from where we live to the top, not a one size fits all mentality that they have in Washington.
Source: GOP "Your Money/Your Vote" 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate Oct 28, 2015

Marco Rubio: Mainstream media is a SuperPAC for Democrats

Donald TRUMP: SuperPACs are a disaster. They're a scam. They cause dishonesty. And you better get rid of them.

RUBIO: The Democrats have the ultimate SuperPAC. It's called the mainstream media. For example, last week, Hillary Clinton admitted she had sent e-mails to her family saying, "Hey, this attack at Benghazi was caused by Al Qaida-like elements." It was the week she got exposed as a liar, but she has her super PAC helping her out, the American mainstream media.

Source: GOP `Your Money/Your Vote` 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate Oct 28, 2015

Rand Paul: Liberty thrives when government is small

Liberty thrives when government is small. I want a government so small I can barely see it. I want a government so small that the individual has a chance to thrive and prosper. I think, though, government is too big now. And what you're going to see in Washington this week is establishment Republicans have made an agreement with the president to raise the debt ceiling in an unlimited fashion; no limit to the debt ceiling raise. This is extraordinary. It's extraordinarily wrong
Source: GOP `Your Money/Your Vote` 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate Oct 28, 2015

  • The above quotations are from CNBC Two-Tier 2015 GOP primary debate
    Your Money/Your Vote
    First Tier: Ten candidates by polls
    Second Tier: Four other Republicans
    .
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Government Reform.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Carly Fiorina on Government Reform.
  • Click here for more quotes by Ben Carson on Government Reform.
2016 Presidential contenders on Government Reform:
  Republicans:
Gov.Jeb Bush(FL)
Dr.Ben Carson(MD)
Gov.Chris Christie(NJ)
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX)
Carly Fiorina(CA)
Gov.Jim Gilmore(VA)
Sen.Lindsey Graham(SC)
Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
Gov.Bobby Jindal(LA)
Gov.John Kasich(OH)
Gov.Sarah Palin(AK)
Gov.George Pataki(NY)
Sen.Rand Paul(KY)
Gov.Rick Perry(TX)
Sen.Rob Portman(OH)
Sen.Marco Rubio(FL)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
Donald Trump(NY)
Gov.Scott Walker(WI)
Democrats:
Gov.Lincoln Chafee(RI)
Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY)
V.P.Joe Biden(DE)
Gov.Martin O`Malley(MD)
Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren(MA)
Sen.Jim Webb(VA)

2016 Third Party Candidates:
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Roseanne Barr(PF-HI)
Robert Steele(L-NY)
Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
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Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018