2014 MN Senate debate: on Jobs

Heather Johnson: Oppose increase in the minimum wage

A: No, I do not support an increase in the minimum wage. That is a temporary solution to a long term problem. Government and crony capitalism manipulation of the market have done more harm than good. The free market should be a voluntary interaction between businesses and consumers, something is exchanged for something they need. Items, goods, services, could be money, bitcoins; there is so much room for choice in a consumer driven market. Look at utilities, they have a near monopoly and they can dictate price instead of a voluntary model where everybody has a say.

Mike McFadden: Gender-based pay equality & minimum wage? "Wrong questions"

The candidate wouldn't say whether he supports a state-based effort to increase Minnesota's minimum wage to $9.50 an hour. He called the vote concerning gender-based pay discrimination an election-year trick and said personhood legislation, which seeks to give fetuses the same rights as people, is a "polarizing" issue that he wouldn't focus on. When asked about the minimum wage, he said it was "the wrong question."

"What I think is really important with politicians and with leaders [is] you understand their overriding philosophies--how do they make decisions?" McFadden said. "And so I've been very specific in this campaign as to how I make decisions and it begins with my view of government, my philosophy of government."