[Title3]


Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: I believe in labor unions & a robust middle class

Q: Are you a Democrat? Or something new entirely?

KENNEDY: I'm something old. I'm a Kennedy Democrat. I believe in labor unions. I believe in a strong, robust middle class. I believe in racial justice, in policies that are going to actually help the lowest people on the totem pole.

Q: I don't think Joe Biden would disagree with any of that.

KENNEDY: Then why did he do the lockdowns? Lockdowns robbed $4 trillion from the middle class and the poor in this country and transferred it to the super rich. We created 500 new billionaires--a billionaire a day, every day.

Q: Do you think politicians did lockdowns, in order to enrich billionaires? That was the goal?

KENNEDY: If they cared about the middle class, they wouldn't have done it. They wouldn't have shut down 3.3 million businesses without due process.

[New Yorker Fact-check: The $4 trillion figure was likely an estimate for the price of the federal bailout. Many of the 500 billionaires rose up in other countries, especially China.]

Source: The New Yorker magazine on 2023 Presidential hopefuls Jul 7, 2023

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Yes living wage; no universal basic income

Kennedy expressed hesitation when asked if he would support a federal jobs guarantee or a universal basic income. "I need to talk to a lot of economists about the ups and downs of those issues," he said. "I can see a lot of problems with those issues, which I think are obvious to anybody. And it's a real departure from American free market capitalism. I'd like to try to give this system a chance to work."

On raising the federal minimum wage, Kennedy said he did not have a specific number in mind but that "people should have a living wage in this country. 35% of Americans are not making enough money to pay for basic human needs, and that means food, transportation and housing," Kennedy said on the podcast.

He has also expressed support for bolstering unions: "We need to build rebuild unions in this country, because it's one of the key ways we can counterbalance the domination of our government by corporate power."

Source: ABC Politics on 2023 Presidential hopefuls Jun 21, 2023

  • The above quotations are from Interviews and analysis of presidential primary hopefuls during 2023.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Jobs.
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  • Click here for more quotes by Joe Biden on Jobs.
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2024 Presidential contenders on Jobs:
  Candidates for President & Vice-President:
V.P.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.(I-CA)
Chase Oliver(L-GA)
Dr.Jill Stein(D-MA)
Former Pres.Donald Trump(R-FL)
Sen.J.D.Vance(R-OH)
Gov.Tim Walz(D-MN)
Dr.Cornel West(I-NJ)

2024 presidential primary contenders:
Pres.Joe_Biden(D-DE)
N.D.Gov.Doug Burgum(R)
N.J.Gov.Chris_Christie(R)
Fla.Gov.Ron_DeSantis(R)
S.C.Gov.Nikki_Haley(R)
Ark.Gov.Asa_Hutchinson(R)
Former V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
U.S.Rep.Dean_Phillips(D-MN)
Vivek_Ramaswamy(R-OH)
S.C.Sen.Tim_Scott(R)
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Page last updated: Nov 02, 2024