Ben Carson in CNBC 2015 GOP primary debate
On Government Reform:
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
On Civil Rights:
Constitution protects gays equally, but not marriage
I believe that our Constitution protects everybody, regardless of their sexual orientation. I also believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. And there is no reason that you can't be perfectly fair to the gay community.
They shouldn't automatically assume that because you believe that marriage is between one man and one woman that you are a homophobe.
Source: GOP "Your Money/Your Vote" 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate
Oct 28, 2015
On Energy & Oil:
Best policy is to get rid of all subsidies
I have concluded that the best policy is to get rid of all government subsidies, and get the government out of our lives, and let people rise and fall based on how good they are. It goes back to the concept of regulations.
Every regulation costs in terms of goods and services. Who are the people who are hurt by that? It's the poor people and middle class. Doesn't hurt rich people if their bar of soap goes up ten cents, but it hurts the poor and the middle class.
Source: GOP "Your Money/Your Vote" 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate
Oct 28, 2015
On Government Reform:
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
On Health Care:
Give people the option to opt out of Medicare
The plan gives people the option of opting out. The annual Medicare budget is over $600 billion. And there are 48 million people involved. Divide that out. That comes out to $12,500 for each one. There are a lot of private-sector things that you could
do with $12,500. That's a theme of a lot of the things that I'm talking about. How do we utilize our intellect rather than allowing the government to use its, quote, "intellect," in order to help us to be able to live healthier and better lives?
Source: GOP "Your Money/Your Vote" 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate
Oct 28, 2015
On Principles & Values:
I had no relationship with Mannatech but I take the product
Q: This company called Mannatech, a maker of nutritional supplements, with which you had a 10-year relationship. They paid $7 million to settle a deceptive marketing lawsuit in Texas, and yet your involvement continued. Why?A:
I didn't have an involvement with them. I did a couple of speeches for them, I do speeches for other people. They were paid speeches. Do I take the product? Yes. I think it's a good product.
Source: GOP "Your Money/Your Vote" 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate
Oct 28, 2015
On Principles & Values:
Don't give away values for the sake of political correctness
People are waking up because it is going to be us who will determine the direction of our country.
And, it was made for we the people, we are the ones who decide who we are, and we should never give away the values and principles that made America into a great nation for the sake of political correctness.
Source: GOP "Your Money/Your Vote" 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate
Oct 28, 2015
On Tax Reform:
Tithing at 15%, plus removing all loopholes & waste
Q: You have a flat tax plan of 10%. I've had a really tough time trying to make the math work on this. It's going to leave us in a $2 trillion hole.CARSON: I didn't say that the rate would be 10%; I used the tithing analogy. The rate is going to be
much closer to 15%.
Q: 15% still leaves you with a $1.1 trillion hole.
CARSON: You also have to get rid of all the deductions and all the loopholes. You also have to do some strategic cutting in several places. Remember, we have 645 federal agencies
and subagencies. Anybody who tells me that we need every penny in every one of those is in a fantasy world.
Q: You would have to cut government by about 40% to make it work with a $1.1 trillion hole.
CARSON: It's not true.
Q: It is true. I looked
at the numbers.
CARSON: When we put all the facts down, you will be able to see that it works out very well.
Gov. KASICH: We're going to have a 10% tithe, and just fix everything with waste, fraud, and abuse? Folks, we've got to wake up!
Source: GOP `Your Money/Your Vote` 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate
Oct 28, 2015
Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018