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Gary Johnson on Jobs

Libertarian presidential nominee; former Republican NM Governor


Governments don't create jobs--businesses do

When I was governor of New Mexico, I had the highest job growth of any of the 50 governors. But I didn't create a single job--businesses did. I just got government out of their way. We have an unprecedented opportunity to use today's crisis to return us to economic growth and prosperity. Never before has the government been such an obstacle to employment. Republicans and Democrats have regulated and taxed our economy to where we're lagging behind Brazil, Russia, China, Israel and India in terms of growth and innovation.

Government can't grow us out of this mess--government is the problem. Radical tax reform and spending discipline can bring America back. Let's get America working again.

Source: Gary Johnson, "America moving again" in The Washington Times , Feb 2, 2012

Oppose NLRB recent actions against Boeing in SC

Q: Do you support NLRB recent actions against Boeing in SC? [The National Labor Relations Board claims that Boeing located a new 787 passenger aircraft assembly line in South Carolina to retaliate against Washington state union workers who went on strike in 2008.]

A: Absolutely not. For as obsessed as the administration appears to be with creating jobs this is one more example of fewer jobs. 2012 is an opportunity for GOP to show we're the party who'll get our fiscal house in order.

Source: 2011 Republican primary debate on Twitter.com , Jul 21, 2011

1999: Vetoed raising minimum wage from $4.25/hour to $5.65

In 1999, Johnson vetoed a bill which would have raised the minimum wage from $4.25 per hour to $5.65. He also signed a law deregulating New Mexico's electricity market that allowed residential, small-business customers and schools to start shopping for their electricity supplier. He's argued that when a Democrat negotiates with labor unions through collective bargaining it's a "giveaway" instead of a negotiation.
Source: Club for Growth 2012 Presidential White Paper #9: Johnson , Jul 21, 2011

Long unemployment benefits postpones dealing with problem

Q: The nation's unemployment rate is 8.8%. Among your proposals for getting the private sector to start hiring are eliminating corporate income tax, doing away with the Federal minimum wage law and to stop extending unemployment benefits, isn't that just a windfall for big business?

JOHNSON: Well absolutely not, I think that repealing or doing away with the corporate income tax is simply getting us back to where we were and we need to understand that the corporate income tax is a double tax. And with regard to unemployment benefits, I'm in the camp that believes that we as individuals, we need a bit of help, so government helps out but at the point at which it runs out, that's when we really deal with the problems that we have as individuals. That's when we deal with those problems. So does government actually perhaps make the problem worse, as opposed to better, by having a finite amount of time that you would receive unemployment benefits?

Source: 2011 GOP primary debate in South Carolina , May 5, 2011

Create block grants for Agricultural Stewardship.

Johnson signed the Western Governors' Association resolution:

Source: WGA Policy Resolution 01 - 08: Farm Bill Reauthorization 01-WGA08 on Aug 14, 2001

Other candidates on Jobs: Gary Johnson on other issues:
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Page last updated: Oct 17, 2012