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Rocky Anderson on Jobs
Justice Party challenger for President; former mayor of Salt Lake City
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Trade agreements responsible for sending jobs overseas
ROMNEY: I know what it takes to create good jobs again. I know what it takes to bring them back, and I'm going to do that.ANDERSON: Neither of the major-party candidates answered the number one issue on people's minds. The most we got out of Mitt
Romney is he said, "I know how to create jobs." And then President Obama, he has set our nation's record for the most months in a four-year period of over 8% unemployment. He has not ever even suggested renegotiating the trade agreements that are
responsible for sending so many millions of jobs overseas. We need leadership in this country, with people who care about those who are struggling. So we need to renegotiate our trade agreements so that we're no longer sending these millions of jobs
overseas and we're bringing them back. We need to provide the kinds of incentives so that there is an equal playing ground for those employers who will hire US workers and provide the kinds of good jobs that our young people should be looking forward to.
Source: Democracy Now! Expanded Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
, Oct 16, 2012
Raise minimum wage to $10.55 an hour, to stimulate economy
President Obama promised four years ago that he would push for an increase in the minimum wage to nine-and-a-half dollars by 2011. He--that's one of many of his broken promises to working people in this country.
The best job creators are working people who have money in their pockets, who will spend.
One of the great advantages of raising the minimum wage would be to provide for more consumer spending to build more jobs and to help small businesses in this country. To get back to
1968 minimum wage levels, it would require a minimum wage of $10.55. It is time that we raise the minimum wage, and there would be a great ripple effect impacting the wages of some 30 million people in this country.
Source: Democracy Now! Expanded Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
, Oct 16, 2012
Strong labor movement crucial to thriving middle class
For 35 years, we had a thriving middle class in this country. People were doing well. That doesn't mean there weren't people on the margins, but there were good jobs. Wages were being raised. We had a strong union movement, which contributed a great
deal to that thriving middle class. And now we're seeing a return to the Gilded Age with a disparity in income and wealth unparalleled since the 1920s. We can do so much better providing good jobs, but having a strong labor movement in this country is
crucial to that.President Obama promised that he would support the Employee Free Choice Act, and he did almost nothing to see that that was done, yet another promise betrayed by President Obama for the middle class while he was serving
the interests of Wall Street. We can renegotiate those trade agreements and bring those jobs back, put in place a WPA-like project, and raise wages, including the minimum wage, which will have that rippling effect and help out everybody.
Source: Democracy Now! Expanded Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
, Oct 16, 2012
Page last updated: Oct 27, 2012