TW: Fifteen hundred new border agents, detection for drugs, DOJ money to speed up these adjudications on this. Just what America wants. But as soon as it was getting ready to pass and actually tackle this Donald Trump said "No," told them to vote
against it because it gives him a campaign issue. It gives him, what would Donald Trump talk about if we actually did some of these things? And they need to be done by the legislature. You can't just do this through the executive branch.
On raising the federal minimum wage, Kennedy said he did not have a specific number in mind
but that "people should have a living wage in this country. 35% of Americans are not making enough money to pay for basic human needs, and that means food, transportation and housing," Kennedy said on the podcast.
He has also expressed support for bolstering unions: "We need to build rebuild unions in this country, because it's one of the key ways we can counterbalance the domination of our government by corporate power."
"Rideshare drivers deserve fair wages and safe working conditions. I am committed to finding solutions that balance the interests of all parties, including drivers and
riders," said Governor Walz. "This is not the right bill to achieve these goals. I have spent my career fighting for workers, and I will continue to work with drivers, riders, and rideshare companies to address the concerns that this bill sought to
address."
To allow time to find solutions that balance the interests of all Minnesotans, Governor Walz vetoed Chapter 65, House File 2369 as passed by the Minnesota legislature.
Ensure a $15 minimum wage for federal contract workers with
disabilities.ANALYSIS:This fulfills the promise as far it can go by executive order. While it will put pressure on the private sector to keep pace, ensuring a $15 wage for non-government contractors would require legislation.]
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Campaign website versus Biden Administration promises
Joe Biden on Welfare & Poverty
: Mar 6, 2021
Gave up on $15 minimum wage in Congressional bills
PROMISE MADE: (Third Presidential Debate, Oct 22, 2020): "No one should work one job, be below poverty. People are making six, seven, eight bucks an hour. These first responders we all clap for as they come down the street because they've
allowed us to make it. What's happening? They deserve a minimum wage of $15. Anything below that puts you below the poverty level.PROMISE BROKEN: (CNN March 6, 2021): The Senate bill does not include an increase in
the federal minimum wage, which House Democrats proposed raising to $15 an hour. The parliamentarian ruled in late February that increasing the hourly threshold does not meet a strict set of guidelines needed to move forward in the reconciliation
process.
OnTheIssues ANALYSIS: Progressives have said they will continue to fight for the increase, and the Biden White House continues to support a raise to $15/hour, including the "Raise the Wage Act" introduced in 2021.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: CNN "Senate stimulus" analysis of 2021 Biden Promises
Joe Biden on Jobs
: Oct 22, 2020
No one with a job should be below poverty level
BIDEN: No one should work one job, be below poverty. People are making six, seven, eight bucks an hour. These first responders we all clap for as they come down the street because they've allowed us to make it. What's happening?
They deserve a minimum wage of $15. Anything below that puts you below the poverty level. And there is no evidence that when you raise the minimum wage, businesses go out of business. That is simply not true.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Third 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Kristen Welker
Mike Pence on Jobs
: Sep 22, 2020
Raising minimum wage is inflationary; would eliminate jobs
According to a Mike Pence press release obtained via Congressional Press Releases, "'Minimum wage increases raise unemployment among teenagers, minorities and part-time workers. The minimum wage violates fundamental free market economics. It costs jobs,
and I cannot support policies that will take jobs from those who need a paycheck the most." [Congressional Press Releases, 7/29/06]"[Pence's opponent] supports an increase in the minimum wage, currently at $3.35 an hour. Pence opposes an increase,
saying it would be inflationary. Pence referred to a study that concluded that increasing the minimum wage could eliminate 12,000 jobs in the 2nd District by 1992." [Indianapolis Star, 10/12/88]
"In 2013, House Democrats proposed a bill that would
bring the minimum wage to $8.25. Governor Mike Pence made his opposition apparent when he signed into law a bill that prohibits local governments from requiring a higher wage." [Indiana Statesman: Indiana State University, 9/24/14]
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: Trump Research Book on Mike Pence
Dean Phillips on Jobs
: Apr 28, 2020
Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act to combat wage discrimination
The Equal Pay Act was passed more than 50 years ago, and yet a substantial wage gap still exists between men and women--and particularly women of color. Dean will work to address this
through increasing the minimum wage, making it easier for women to have families without jeopardizing their careers, and passing the Paycheck Fairness Act to combat wage discrimination.
Click for Dean Phillips on other issues.
Source: 2018 MN-3 House campaign website PhillipsForCongress.org
Joe Biden on Jobs
: Mar 27, 2020
Universal paid sick leave' $15 minimum wage; support unions
I would ensure every worker had paid sick leave and across the board. It should be up to 14 weeks' paid sick leave. The national minimum wage should be $15, but that's not nearly enough. We should make [it] easier to unionize,
and take on those companies that spend about a billion dollars a year now trying to prevent people from being able to unionize and taking actions that prevents them from being able to do that.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: CNN S.C. Town Hall amid 2020 primaries
Joe Biden on Jobs
: Mar 16, 2020
I supported $15 minimum wage in NYC years ago
Bernie Sanders: What leadership is about, is going forward when it's not popular, when it's an idea that you get criticized for. So I'm proud of my leadership on many issues. Joe, since the campaign, has come around. I talked about raising that minimum
wage 15-bucks-an-hour, four years ago, Joe.Biden: So did I, and I went out and campaigned for it.
Sanders: $15 an hour?
Biden: $15 an hour, in New York City. Go to the Governor. You should be aware of it.
Sanders: I will talk to the Governor.
I am not aware of it. Four years ago, it was a radical idea. Very few people in Congress were talking about it.
FactCheck by PolitiFact:Biden is right about his efforts in NYC. In 2015, Biden campaigned with NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo to boost
NY's minimum wage to $15 per hour. Biden spoke for nearly 30 minutes and called "stagnant wages" the biggest issue facing the economy. Cuomo eventually signed legislation to gradually increase the hourly minimum wage to $15 for all New Yorkers.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: PolitiFact FactCheck on 11th Democratic 2020 primary debate
Joe Biden on Families & Children
: Feb 5, 2020
$15 minimum wage and triple money for Title 1 schools
I talk about the working poor all the time. No one should be working 40 hours a week and living in poverty. That's why we have to raise the standard of $15 an hour for every worker in America. We have to provide for opportunities at the early stages.
I propose that we triple the amount of money we spend for Title I schools, which means every child, age 3, 4, and 5, will be in school, not daycare, school.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: CNN N. H. Town Hall on eve of 2020 N. H. primary
Tulsi Gabbard on Social Security
: Nov 19, 2019
Take money for Social Security from military & tax giveaways
Gabbard supports eliminating tax breaks for corporations that shift profits abroad and a national $15 hourly minimum wage. She says she wants to "ensure Social Security's solvency by taking the trillions of tax dollars now spent
on military spending and tax giveaways to the wealthiest American families and corporations and reinvesting them" in the Social Security program.
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.
Source: The Nation magazine on 2019 Democratic primary
Mike Pence on Jobs
: Sep 14, 2019
Increasing minimum wage causes lay offs
[In the 1988 electoral race, Rep. Phil] Sharp and Pence finally met on the debate stage, on October11.[On minimum wage]: "Increasing the minimum wage would cause businesses to lay off workers, he said' when
you guys raise the guy on the bottom rung of the ladder, you have to raise everybody else's." He blasted Sharp and the Democrats on spending: "Their answer to every social ill is to spend more money."
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: Piety & Power, by Tom LoBianco, p. 61-2
Bernie Sanders on Government Reform
: Sep 12, 2019
Power to the people, not the billionaires
We have to recognize that this country is moving into an oligarchic society where a handful of billionaires control the economic and political life. As president, I am prepared to take them on. Yes, we will raise the minimum wage to a living wage.
Yes, we will finally make sure that every American has health care as a human right, not a privilege. And, yes, we will address the catastrophic crisis of climate change and transform our energy system away from fossil fuel.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: September Democratic Primary debate in Houston
Kamala Harris on Jobs
: Jul 17, 2019
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour
Harris on Minimum Wage: Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour.19 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Steve Bullock; Peter Buttigieg; Julian Castro; Bill de Blasio; John Delaney; Tulsi Gabbard;
Kirsten Gillibrand; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson.
There's broad support among Democratic presidential candidates for doubling the hourly minimum from $7.25 to $15, and then allowing it to rise automatically with inflation, as proposed by House Democrats in the Raise the Wage Act. Even centrists like
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Vice President Joe Biden favor this. In 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton favored going only to $12 (though she expressed strong support for states that raised it to $15).
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Tulsi Gabbard on Jobs
: Jul 17, 2019
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour
Gabbard on Minimum Wage: Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour.19 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Steve Bullock; Peter Buttigieg; Julian Castro; Bill de Blasio; John Delaney;
Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson.
There's broad support among Democratic presidential candidates for doubling the hourly minimum from $7.25 to $15, and then allowing it to rise automatically with inflation, as proposed by House Democrats in the Raise the Wage Act. Even centrists like
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Vice President Joe Biden favor this. In 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton favored going only to $12 (though she expressed strong support for states that raised it to $15).
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Bernie Sanders on Principles & Values
: Jun 23, 2019
Economic rights are human rights: that's FDR's "socialism"
Q: Some voters are uncomfortable with the term "socialism."A: I have got to do more work in explaining what that means. FDR said economic rights are human rights: the right to a job that pays you a living wage, the right to health care, the right to
education. And we have expanded that to say that means a clean environment. What Democratic socialism means to me is guaranteeing all of our people in the wealthiest country in the history of the world a decent retirement, a decent standard of living.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2019 interview series
Marianne Williamson on Corporations
: May 13, 2019
Repeal corporate tax cuts
ECONOMY/TRADE: Increase minimum wage by region, repeal corporate tax cuts in 2017 tax law.Williamson has put forward a four-step plan to reduce income inequality. It includes providing cash relief through a universal basic income; creating jobs
through Green New Deal legislation; boosting government funding for early education and caregiving; and introducing a universal savings program. Williamson has proposed paying for the plan by rolling back tax cuts to the wealthy and big businesses.
Click for Marianne Williamson on other issues.
Source: PBS News Hour 2019 coverage of 2020 Democratic primary
Joe Biden on Jobs
: Apr 25, 2019
Increase minimum wage gradually
In 2015, Biden called for a $12 federal minimum wage that would gradually increase to $15 by 2020, even when the
Obama administration advocated for a modest uptick of $12 per hour from $7.25.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Bernie Sanders on Jobs
: Apr 12, 2019
Tax companies for public benefits used by workers
Sanders co-sponsored a bill in April 2017 that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15. In September 2018, he introduced the
Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (Stop BEZOS) Act, which would tax companies for public benefits their workers accessed.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Marianne Williamson on Jobs
: Mar 5, 2019
Supports $15 minimum wage & Green New Deal
Economy: Williamson supports the institution of a $15 minimum wage. She also supports the
Green New Deal, an economic stimulus bill that calls for radical environmental and economic policies.
Click for Marianne Williamson on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com: 2020 Democratic primary "Candidate profiles"
Bernie Sanders on Jobs
: Feb 25, 2019
Make minimum wage a living wage
I believe that in the richest country in the history of the world, if you work 40 hours a week, you should not be living in poverty. I believe that if we raise that minimum wage to $15 an hour, workers will have more money to spend in their community
and create jobs doing that. Raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do. I think it is good economics. I'm very delighted to see the kind of progress we're making in states and cities all over this country.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall on 2020 Democratic presidential primary
Bernie Sanders on Jobs
: Nov 27, 2018
Accompany minimum wage increase with pay equity for women
Why, in the wealthiest country in history, do we have a massive level of income and wealth inequality? Why are millions of us forced to work two or three jobs because we earn starvation wages? Why, at a time of record-breaking profits, does the federal
minimum wage remain an unlivable $7.25 per hour? Three years ago, a few brave Democrats in the Senate were advocating for a $12 federal minimum wage. Today, a majority of Americans support a $15-an-hour minimum wage.
We are making progress in
creating a more just economy. And by the way, when we talk about a fair wage, we cannot forget that women still earn some 80 cents on the dollar compared with men. When we talk about a fair wage, we cannot forget that women still earn some 80 cents on
the dollar compared with men. There is overwhelming support in this country for pay equity--equal pay for equal work--and that is the right thing to do. Every man in this country must stand with the women to win that fight.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Where We Go From Here, by Bernie Sanders, p.253-4
Bernie Sanders on Principles & Values
: Nov 25, 2018
Learn from Gingrich in 1994: propose bold Democratic agenda
Q: You are calling for Democrats, who are now going to be in the majority in the House, to launch a kind of new Contract with America [including] raising the minimum wage, making public universities tuition free, & expanding Social Security.SANDERS:
You pick up on what I wrote in a Washington Post op-ed: back in 1994 Newt Gingrich--who I disagree with on everything--had a bold right wing agenda, and I think we should learn from that. This is what the American people want. And we should do it.
Poll after poll shows that the American people understand that our current dysfunctional health care system needs fundamental change; that we have to deal with a broken criminal justice system; with immigration reform. The question is whether Congress
has the guts to stand up to the big money interests who want more tax breaks for the rich, who want to cut Social Security. Or we stand up for the shrinking middle class and we demand legislation which represents the working families of this country.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Howie Hawkins on Families & Children
: Nov 4, 2018
Supports universal healthcare & universal pre-K
Howie Hawkins sounds like a nice guy, and his platform is admirable in many ways. He supports universal healthcare, raising the minimum wage, banning fracking, creating green jobs and serious ethics reform. His education agenda calls for full funding of
public schools, universal pre-K and free tuition at state higher-ed institutions, earning him the endorsement of several dissident teachers unions, as well as education activist Diane Ravitch.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.
Source: The Nation magazine on 2014 New York gubernatorial race
Bernie Sanders on Jobs
: Oct 14, 2018
Helped raise minimum wage at Amazon to $15 per hour
Q: President Trumps says that if the Democrats get control, people like you--he calls you "Crazy Bernie"--are going to take over and try to turn the US into Venezuela.SANDERS: Yes, Bernie would like to guarantee healthcare to all people. Bernie wants
to end the absurdity of thousands of bright young kids not being able to afford to go to college and millions leaving school deeply in debt. Bernie thinks it's more important to invest in the needs of our infrastructure and our working families rather
than giving tax breaks to billionaires and corporations. Bernie thinks that we should raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and are proud of the work that many of us did in helping to raise that wage at Amazon, 350,000 workers now are going to be making
at least $15 bucks an hour. So what Bernie wants to do is to have a government that represents all of us, not just wealthy campaign contributors. Now Trump may not like that, but I think most Americans want to see us move in that direction.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: ABC This Week 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Tim Walz on Jobs
: Oct 9, 2018
Supports $15 minimum wage for Minnesota
Q: Raise the minimum wage?Jeff Johnson (R): No. Says it would lessen options for young & least experienced people.
Tim Walz (D): Yes. Supports $15 minimum wage for Minnesota.
Click for Tim Walz on other issues.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Minnesota Governor race
Dean Phillips on Jobs
: Oct 9, 2018
Supports $15/hour minimum wage
Key messages: Phillips highlighted his entrepreneurial efforts, including
opening a coffee shop where part-time employees were paid a $15/hour minimum wage.
Click for Dean Phillips on other issues.
Source: Ballotpedia 2018 Congress MN-3 Key Message election analysis
Bernie Sanders on Corporations
: Jul 22, 2018
Americans in red OR blue states oppose enriching the top 1%
Q: You're in Kansas working to help elect progressive candidates. This is a solidly pro-Trump red state. SANDERS: Well, I happen to believe passionately that there really is not a blue state/red state division in this country. I think there is a lot
of mythology attached to that. People believe that health care is a right. People believe we should raise the minimum wage to a living wage. People do not think, as Trump does, that we should give a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the top
1 percent, but in fact we have got to demand that the rich start paying their fair share of taxes. So, whether you are in Kansas or the Bronx or in
Vermont, we have common interests and common aspirations. And we have got to fight for an America that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Bernie Sanders on Jobs
: Aug 29, 2017
Current $7.25/hr and $2.13/hr is starvation wage
The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is starvation wage. The minimum wage must become a living wage--which means raising it to $15 an hour by 2020 and tying it to the cost-of-living increases in the future. And we must also close the
loophole that allows employers to pay workers who get tips--waiters, bartenders, hairdressers, taxi drivers, parking attendants--a shamefully low $2.13 an hour. These changes would benefit more than seventy-five million workers and their families.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Guide to Political Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p. 2
Bernie Sanders on Jobs
: Apr 26, 2017
Fight for $15: worker wages so low they need food stamps!
[The movement labeled "Fight for $15" involved] raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour; [that] may have been a fringe idea a few years ago, but now it is a mainstream idea whose time has come. This legislation would also end an outrageous aspect of
corporate welfare. Today, many workers in large and profitable corporations, some of which are owned by multibillionaires, earn wages that are so low that they are forced to rely on publicly funded programs like
Medicaid, food stamps, and public housing in order to survive. In my view, it is totally absurd for the taxpayers of this country to have to subsidize people like Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the wealthiest person in the world, worth over
$150 billion. He should be paying his employees a living wage, and a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage would be a step in the right direction toward making that happen.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Where We Go From Here, by Bernie Sanders, p.80-1
Bernie Sanders on Jobs
: Nov 15, 2016
Minimum wage increase most helps minority workers
Raising the minimum wage would give a particularly huge boost to minority workers. Today, more than half of all African-American workers and nearly 60 percent of Hispanic workers earn less than $15 an hour. In addition, according to the most recent
statistics, women make up two-thirds of all minimum-wage workers. Increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour would significantly boost the wages of more than 15 million women.My Republican colleagues tell us that most minimum-wage workers out there
are kids earning some pocket change. This is simply not true, and by perpetuating that lie, my colleagues are keeping tens of millions of working adults in poverty.
The average worker who would benefit from a $15-an-hour minimum wage is
thirty-six years old with an average of seventeen years in the workforce. Less than 7 percent of workers who would receive a raise from this proposal are teenagers.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p.218-9
Bernie Sanders on Jobs
: Nov 15, 2016
$15 minimum wage, plus pay equity for women
Millions of Americans are now working for totally inadequate wages. The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is a starvation wage and must be raised. The minimum wage must become a living wage, which means raising it to
$15 an hour over the next few years--which is exactly what Los Angeles recently did, and I applaud them for doing that. Our goal as a nation must be to ensure that no full-time worker lives in poverty.
Further, we must establish pay equity for women workers. It's unconscionable that women earn 78 cents on the dollar compared to men who perform the same work.
We must also end the scandal in which millions of American employees, often earning less then $30,000 a year, work fifty or sixty hours a week--and earn no overtime.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p.123
Mike Pence on Jobs
: Jul 14, 2016
Blocked statewide & local minimum wage increase
Pence signed a law capping Indiana minimum wage and employee benefits. In 2013, Pence mustered Republican State House opposition to a proposal that would have increased Indiana's minimum wage to
$8.25 per hour despite national support for raising the wage to $9. According to The Times of Northwest Indiana,
Pence had previously signed legislation "prohibit[ing] local governments from requiring businesses [to] pay a higher minimum wage, or offer any working condition or benefit, such as paid sick leave, if it's not mandated by state or federal law."
On May 6, 2015, Pence continued his campaign against living wages by repealing a law guaranteeing that "prevailing wages" be paid to workers on publicly funded construction projects. [The Times of Northwest Indiana, 11/12/13, 5/6/15]
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: Media Matters on 2016 Veepstakes: "What Media Should Know"
Bernie Sanders on Jobs
: Jul 9, 2016
$15/hour minimum wage indexed to inflation
[After the 2016 primaries], during the proceedings in St. Louis and Orlando, we were victorious in including amendments in the platform that made it the policy of the Democratic Party to fight for:- A $15-an-hour federal minimum wage indexed to
inflation;
- Requiring Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices and making it legal to import safe and affordable medicine from Canada and other countries;
- Expanding Social Security by increasing taxes on those making over $250,000 a
year;
- Preventing employers from cutting the earned pension benefits of more than 1.5 million Americans;
- Making it easier for workers to join unions through majority card-check recognition and by ensuring a first contract through binding
arbitration.
All of these progressive policies were at the heart of our campaign. I appreciated the willingness of the Clinton team and the DNC to work with us and create a platform that we could all be proud of.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Where We Go From Here, by B. Sanders, p.16-7, on 2016 DNC
Donald Trump on Jobs
: May 8, 2016
How do people make it on $7.25? Raise state minimum wage
Donald Trump said in television interviews that he would like an increase in the minimum wage and that it is best that such a change happen at the state level.In the past, Trump has opposed upping the minimum wage. But in recent days, he has
increasingly warmed to the idea. "I have seen what's going on, and I don't know how people make it on $7.25," said Trump, referencing the federal minimum hourly wage. "With that being said, I would like to see an increase of some magnitude, but
I'd rather leave it to the states. Let the states decide."
Speaking at a second interview, the business mogul said, "I haven't decided in terms of numbers, but I think people have to get more."
He acknowledged that he was putting forth a position at odds with his previous stance. "Sure, it's a change. I'm allowed to change. You need flexibility," he said.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Washington Post, "Minimum-wage hike," by Sean Sullivan
Bernie Sanders on Jobs
: Mar 9, 2016
Minority youth more underemployed than others
We have a crisis with youth unemployment. If you look at Latino kids between 17 and 20 who graduated high school, 36 percent of them are unemployed or underemployed. African-American kids are unemployed or underemployed to the tune of 51 percent.
That's why I co-sponsored legislation to put $5 billion into a jobs program to put our kids to work because I would rather invest in education and jobs than jails and incarceration. We have got to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2016 PBS Democratic primary debate in Miami
Bernie Sanders on Corporations
: Dec 19, 2015
Let's create America that works for all, not handful on top
People are anxious about the fact that they're seeing the new income and wealth going to the top 1 percent. They're saying the rich are getting richer, what are you going to do about it? Somebody like Trump comes along and says, "We hate Muslims, because
Muslims are terrorists." I say to those who go to Trump's rallies: He thinks a low minimum wage is a good idea. I believe we stand together to address the real issues. Let's create an America that works for all of us, not the handful on top.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2015 ABC/WMUR Democratic primary debate in N.H.
Bernie Sanders on Jobs
: Nov 14, 2015
$15 minimum wage might lose some jobs, but it helps many
Q: A minimum wage of $15 could lead to unintended consequences of job loss.SANDERS: No public policy doesn't have negative consequences. But what you have right now are millions of Americans working two or three jobs because their wages that they are
earning are just too low. It is not a radical idea to say that if somebody works 40 hours a week, that person should not be living in poverty. It is not a radical idea to say that a single mom should be earning enough money to take care of her kids.
Q: Are job losses an acceptable consequence?
SANDERS: Real unemployment in this country is 10% because the average worker in America doesn't have any disposable income. You have no disposable income when you are making $10 or $12 an hour.
When we put money into the hands of working people, they're going to go out and buy goods, they're going to buy services and they're going to create jobs in doing that. That is the kind of economy I believe in: put money in the hands of working people.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2015 CBS Democratic primary debate in Iowa
Marco Rubio on Budget & Economy
: Nov 10, 2015
Raising the minimum wage is an economic disaster
If I thought that raising the minimum wage was the best way to help people increase their pay, I would be all for it, but it isn't. It's a disaster. If you raise the minimum wage, you're going to make people more expensive than a machine.
Here's the best way to raise wages. Make America the best place in the world to start a business or expand an existing business.
Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ Second Tier debate
Donald Trump on Jobs
: Nov 10, 2015
Don't raise minimum wage; it makes us non-competitive
Q: Picketers have gathered demanding an immediate hike in the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Are you sympathetic to the protesters?DONALD TRUMP: I can't be. We are a country that is being beaten on every front economically & militarily. There is nothing
that we do now to win. We don't win anymore. [If our] wages are too high, we're not going to be able to compete against the world. I hate to say it, but we have to leave it the way it is. People have to work really hard and have to get into that upper
stratum. But we can not do this if we are going to compete with the rest of the world. We just can't do it.
Q: So do not raise the minimum wage?
TRUMP: I would not do it.
CARSON: Every time we raise the minimum wage, the number of jobless people
increases.
MARCO RUBIO: If I thought that raising the minimum wage was the best way to help people increase their pay, I would be all for it, but it isn't. If you raise the minimum wage, you're going to make people more expensive than a machine.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ First Tier debate
Marco Rubio on Jobs
: Nov 10, 2015
Raising minimum wage would replace people with machines
Q: Picketers have gathered demanding an immediate hike in the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Are you sympathetic to the protesters?DONALD TRUMP: [If our] wages are too high, we're not going to be able to compete against the world.
CARSON: Every time
we raise the minimum wage, the number of jobless people increases.
MARCO RUBIO: If I thought that raising the minimum wage was the best way to help people increase their pay, I would be all for it, but it isn't. In the 20th century, it's a disaster.
If you raise the minimum wage, you're going to make people more expensive than a machine. And that means all this automation that's replacing jobs and people right now is only going to be accelerated.
Here's the best way to raise wages: Make America the best place in the world to start a business or expand an existing business.
Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ First Tier debate
Bernie Sanders on Social Security
: Aug 30, 2015
Raise the Social Security cap on taxable income
I believe that, as opposed to my Republican colleagues who want to cut Social Security, I believe we should expand Social Security by lifting the cap on taxable income. That's not Hillary Clinton's position.
I believe that we have got to raise the minimum wage over a period of several years to $15 an hour--not Hillary Clinton's position. I voted against the war in Iraq. Hillary Clinton voted for it.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls
Donald Trump on Jobs
: Aug 16, 2015
Don't raise minimum wage, but create more opportunities
Q: What is a fair living wage? TRUMP: I want to keep the minimum wage pretty much where it is right now. Because of the fact that we have a country that is now competing more than ever before because of airplanes, and transportation, and the internet.
If we raise it we're not going to be able to compete with the rest of the world. What I do want to do is bring in jobs so much so that people don't have to live on minimum wage. But we are going to have to compete with the rest of the world.
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Source: Meet the Press 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Bernie Sanders on Budget & Economy
: Jun 28, 2015
Economic issues take a larger toll on minority groups
I think the nationwide issues that we are dealing with, combating youth unemployment, talking about the need that public colleges and universities should be tuition free, raising the minimum wage to
$15 an hour, creating millions of jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure, are issues that should apply to every American.
But to be honest with you, given the disparity that we're seeing in income and wealth in this country, it applies even more to the African-American community and to the Hispanic community.
And what we are going to do is make a major outreach effort to those communities.
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Source: ABC This Week 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Jill Stein on Corporations
: Jun 25, 2015
Break up "too-big-to-fail" banks
A Just Economy: Set a $15/hour federal minimum wage. Break up "too-big-to-fail" banks and democratize the Federal Reserve. Reject gentrification as a model of economic development. Support development of worker and community cooperatives and
small businesses. Make Wall Street, big corporations, and the rich pay their fair share of taxes. Create democratically run public banks and utilities. Replace corporate trade agreements with fair trade agreements.
Click for Jill Stein on other issues.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, jill2016.com, "Plan"
Bernie Sanders on Jobs
: Mar 21, 2015
Raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour
The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is a starvation wage. We need to raise the minimum wage to a living wage--$15 an hour over the next few years.
No one in this country who works 40 hours a week should live in poverty.
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Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, BernieSanders.com
Jill Stein on Education
: Feb 6, 2015
Mobilize to simply keep public education in existence
Families and teachers are mobilizing to keep schools from closing and to simply keep public education in existence. Momentum is growing against abusive high stakes testing that forces poor kids down the deadly school to prison pipeline.
Workers are fighting for living wages and the right to a union. Students are demanding an end to college debt that's crippled a generation. And the list goes on. This movement is alive and well in our communities and in the street.
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Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, Jill2016.com, "Announce"
Mike Huckabee on Foreign Policy
: Jan 24, 2015
Islamic terrorism is the country's most pressing issue
The 2008 presidential candidate who won the Iowa caucuses cycled through conservative positions throughout his 22-minute speech, calling Islamic terrorism the country's most pressing foreign policy issue,
reiterating his opposition to federal intervention on the legalization of same-sex marriage, dismissing the need for an increased minimum wage and backing a flat income tax.
Huckabee was specifically dismissive of economic inequality as a political issue, telling the crowd that "liberals"
would press it in the coming presidential campaign but that "intelligence inequality" was a bigger problem.
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Source: Des Moines Register on 2015 Iowa Freedom Summit
Bernie Sanders on Budget & Economy
: Jan 15, 2015
Comprehensive 12-step agenda for moving America forward
Agenda for America: 12 Steps Forward- Rebuilding Our Crumbling Infrastructure
- Reversing Climate Change
- Creating Worker Co-ops
- Growing the Trade Union Movement
- Raising the Minimum Wage
- Pay Equity for Women Workers
-
Trade Policies that Benefit American Workers
- Making College Affordable for All
- Taking on Wall Street
- Health Care as a Right for All
- Protecting the Most Vulnerable Americans
- Real Tax Reform
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Source: 12 Steps Forward, by Sen. Bernie Sanders
Marco Rubio on Jobs
: Jan 13, 2015
Give wage subsidies rather than raise minimum wage
If the goal is to help those struggling the most in the current economy, there are better ways to go about it than raising the minimum wage. In response to calls to raise the minimum wage, conservatives typically double down on policies
to grow the economy and create jobs. Economic growth is ultimately the answer. In the meantime, people are hurting, the minimum wage is something people understand, and they hear only that conservatives are against it.
Stagnant wages are a real concern to millions. We can find creative answers to help struggling families while staying true to our small-government principles. For instance, one way to help
low-wage workers is to provide wage subsidies to targeted workers. Yes it is government help. But it would not have the job-killing effects of mandating that employers pay employees more than the market will bear.
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Source: American Dreams, by Marco Rubio, p. 29-30
Chris Christie on Jobs
: Oct 26, 2014
Don't raise minimum wage; create better-paying jobs instead
Q: In a Chamber of Commerce speech, you said, "It's time to start offending people." And there's one comment you made that a lot of people are taking offense to:(VIDEO CLIP) CHRISTIE: I'm tired of hearing about minimum wage.
I don't think there's a mother or father sitting around a kitchen table tonight in America who are saying, "You know, honey, if our son or daughter could just make a higher minimum wage, my God, all our dreams would be realized."
Q: For people who are making $7.25 an hour, the minimum wage now, they say getting increase of $10 an hour would make a big difference in their lives and that you were being cavalier about it?
CHRISTIE: I'm saying it exactly as I see it. What we need
to do in this country is not have debate over a higher minimum wage. We have to have a debate over creating better-paying middle class jobs in the country. If that somehow doesn't comport with what people in the political elite want, well, I'm sorry.
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Source: Fox News Sunday 2014 interview of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Marco Rubio on Welfare & Poverty
: Jan 28, 2014
EITC isn't enough for single workers who don't have kids
[Besides raising the minimum wage], there are other steps we can take to help families make ends meet, and few are more effective at reducing inequality and helping families pull themselves up through hard work than the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Right now, it helps about half of all parents at some point. But I agree with Sen. Rubio that it doesn't do enough for single workers who don't have kids. So let's work together to strengthen the credit, reward work, and help more Americans get ahead.
Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.
Source: 2014 State of the Union address
Jill Stein on Jobs
: Mar 8, 2013
Pay liveable wages, not just minimum wage
The Green Party's national platform endorses the liveable wage and the guaranteed basic income: "All workers, temporary or permanent, must be paid a living wage. We support the enactment of living wage laws that apply to all workers."
Green Party activists noted that a minimum wage that matched current productivity growth would be more than $16.50 an hour and said that this figure should factor into the calculation for a liveable-wage guarantee.
Greens said that enacting a liveable wage would boost the economy by providing millions more Americans, especially low-income families, with spending power.
The Green New Deal, advocated by Green candidates including 2012 presidential nominee Jill Stein, calls for the creation of millions of new green jobs that pay liveable wages
Click for Jill Stein on other issues.
Source: Green Party press release, "Liveable wage, not just minimum"
Jill Stein on Budget & Economy
: Oct 4, 2012
Still no end in sight to economic crisis: focus on jobs
ROMNEY: My plan has five basic parts [to create more than] 4 million jobs [without] trickle-down government. STEIN: We still very much still have a crisis in our economy. One out of two Americans are in poverty or heading towards poverty. About 25
million people are either jobless or working in jobs that do not pay living wages. There are 8 million people who've lost their homes. There is no end in sight to the foreclosure crisis. And we have an entire generation of students who are effectively
indentured servants, trapped in unforgiving loans and do not have the jobs to pay them back with unemployment and underemployment rate of about 50% among our young people. So, we very much need new solutions. What we hear from both Obama and Romney are
essentially a rehash: more about deregulating business & Wall Street. We are calling for a Green New Deal modeled after the New Deal that actually got us out of the Great Depression. They created approximately 4 million jobs in as little as two months.
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Source: Democracy Now! Expanded First Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Jill Stein on Jobs
: Jan 25, 2012
Full Employment Program: green jobs and community needs
We will end unemployment in America once and for all by ensuring a job at a living wage for every American willing and able to work. This includes jobs that improve our environment, like clean manufacturing, organic agriculture, public transportation and
clean renewable energy. It also includes jobs that provide urgently needed social infrastructure--for public education, health care, child care, elder care, youth programs, and arts and culture.Our Full Employment Program will create 16 million jobs
through a community-based direct employment initiative that will be nationally funded, locally controlled, and democratically protected against conflicts of interest and pay-to-play influence peddling. The program will directly create jobs in the public
& the private sector. Instead of going to an unemployment office when you can't find work, you can simply go to the local employment office to find a public sector job. These 16 million jobs are 8 times the number sought in Obama's recent jobs proposal.
Click for Jill Stein on other issues.
Source: Green Party 2012 People's State of the Union speech
Jill Stein on Jobs
: Jan 25, 2012
Economic Bill of Rights: unionize; fair taxation; fair trade
The Green New Deal begins with an Economic Bill of Rights that recognizes our rights to an economy that serves people. This means that everyone willing and able to work has the right to a job at a living wage. All of us have the right to quality
education, health care, utilities, and housing. Each of us has the right to unionize, to fair taxation, and to fair trade.This means that everyone willing and able to work has the right to a job at a living wage. All of us have the right to quality
education, health care, housing and utilities. Each of us has the right to unionize, to fair taxation, and to fair trade.
The promise of an Economic Bill of Rights came out of the last period of widespread, extreme economic hardship, the
Great Depression. In 1944, FDR said that "true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence." And 20 years later, Martin Luther King raised up the call for an Economic Bill of Rights once again.
Click for Jill Stein on other issues.
Source: Green Party 2012 People's State of the Union speech
Joe Biden on Jobs
: Jul 23, 2007
Couldn't afford living at minimum wage; advocates raising it
Q: If you're elected to serve as president, would you be willing to do this service for the next four years and be paid the national minimum wage of $7.25 per hour?
A: My net worth is $70,000 to $150,000. That's what happens you get elected at 29. I couldn't afford to stay in the Congress for the minimum wage. But if I get a second job, I'd do it.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2007 YouTube Democratic Primary debate, Charleston SC
Marco Rubio on Government Reform
: Nov 1, 2006
Closer regulation of petition verification process
Florida's Constitution is commonly viewed as the easiest in the US to amend: via citizen initiative petition. The process, originally created in 1968 to empower citizens to amend their constitution, has morphed into an expensive undertaking dominated by
special interest groups that pay professional signature gatherers to collect petition signatures. Examples of citizen initiatives adopted in 2004 include authorization of the use of slot machines, and an increase in the minimum wage. These provisions
do not belong in our Constitution. The purposes of these amendments could have been accomplished by legislative action.
A 2006 bill established closer regulation of the petition process. Legislation should require paid circulators to wear a badge
identifying them as paid circulators; prohibit compensation of petition circulators on a "per signature" basis; and create a process for revoking one's own signature. These changes would help return the citizen initiative process to its original intent.
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Source: 100 Innovative Ideas, by Marco Rubio, p. 60-62
Howie Hawkins on Welfare & Poverty
: Oct 29, 2006
Expand public works to guarantee an adequate income
Indicate which principles you support regarding welfare and poverty. - Increase funding for child care programs.
- Support housing assistance for welfare recipients.
- Hawkins adds, "Guarantee the right to a job at living wage or an income
above poverty. Public works to guarantee everyone willing and able to work a job doing useful work at a living wage. Basic Income Grants, to guarantee an adequate income sufficient to maintain a modest standard of living above the poverty line."
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.
Source: 2006 Congressional National Political Awareness Test
Howie Hawkins on Families & Children
: Jul 31, 2006
Raise minimum wage to family-supporting wage
Raise minimum wage to family-supporting wage. Public works to create jobs at living wage.
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Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, hawkinsforsenate.org, "Issues"
Howie Hawkins on Jobs
: Jun 30, 2006
Full Employment at Living Wages
Full Employment at Living Wages. Public works to create millions of new jobs at living wages. Raise the Minimum Wage to a family-supporting Living Wage.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.
Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, hawkinsforsenate.org, "Issues"
Jill Stein on Jobs
: Nov 24, 2001
Require living wage
Jill's Campaign Issues: - Pass a living wage requirement
- Create jobs through just, sustainable development
Click for Jill Stein on other issues.
Source: Campaign web site, JillForGov.org, "Issues"
Page last updated: Jan 01, 2025
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