Democratic Primary Debate: on Jobs


Andrew Yang: Federal job programs are not the answer to changing economy

I am for the spirit of a federal jobs guarantee, but you have to look at how it would actually materialize in practice. Most Americans do not want to work for the federal government and saying that that is the vision of the economy of the 21st century is not a vision that most Americans would embrace. If you rely upon the federal government to target its resources, you wind up with failed retraining programs and jobs that no one wants.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate Oct 15, 2019

Bernie Sanders: Create jobs with infrastructure repair & Green New Deal

Q: Are you promising that you will have a job for every American displaced by automation?

SANDERS: Damn right, we will. We have an infrastructure which is collapsing. We can put 15 million people to work rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our water systems, our wastewater plants, airports, etc. Furthermore, the Green New Deal that I have advocated will create up to 20 million jobs as we move away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.

Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate Oct 15, 2019

Cory Booker: Increase union strength to improve workers' conditions

I stood with unions because right now, unions in America are under attack. As union membership has gone down, we have seen a stratification of wealth and income in this country. I'll begin to fight to see union strength in this country spread, to make sure we have sectorial bargaining so that unions from the auto workers all the way to fast food workers can ensure that we improve workers' conditions and make sure that every American has a living wage in this country.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate Oct 15, 2019

Julian Castro: We need to invest and spark new job opportunities

I think we need to focus on making sure that we spark job opportunity for people across this country. I would invest in infrastructure to put people back to work. I would invest in a Green New Deal to unleash millions of new jobs in a clean energy economy. On top of that, we need to support working families. We need to invest in things like universal childcare so that people can afford childcare instead of having to pay 20% of their income for it.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate Oct 15, 2019

Tom Steyer: Minimum wage should be $11 to $20, for parity with 1980

Q: Bernie Sanders said, upon proposing to tax the assets of the wealthiest Americans, "we cannot afford a billionaire class whose greed and corruption has been at war with the working families of this country for 45 years".

Steyer: Senator Sanders is right. There have been 40 years where corporations have bought this government: a 40-year attack on the rights of working people & specifically on organized labor. I was one of the first people on this stage to propose a wealth tax. I would undo every Republican tax cut for rich people and major corporations.

Q: What's your plan for closing the income gap?

Steyer: It's absolutely shameful the way the money gets split up in terms of earnings. As a result of taking away the rights of working people and organized labor, 90% of Americans have not had a raise for 40 years. If you took the minimum wage from 1980 and just adjusted it for inflation, you get $11. It's $7.25.. If you included the productivity gains of American workers, it'd be over $20.

Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate Oct 15, 2019

Tulsi Gabbard: Prefers universal basic income to federal jobs guarantee

I think universal basic income is a good idea to help provide that security so that people can have the freedom to make the kinds of choices that they want to see. This has to do with bad trade deals that we've seen in the past, that have also driven fear towards people losing the way that they provide for their families. Really what we need to do is look at how we can best serve the interests of the American people. I do not believe a federal jobs guarantee is the way to do that.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate Oct 15, 2019

  • The above quotations are from Democratic Primary Debate in Ohio, hosted by CNN and the New York Times.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Jobs.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Elizabeth Warren on Jobs.
  • Click here for more quotes by Kamala Harris on Jobs.
2020 Presidential contenders on Jobs:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN) 		Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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Page last updated: Feb 09, 2020