The Associated Press: on Jobs
Mitt Romney:
I know what it's like to worry about a pink slip
Romney has been accused of insensitivity on matters of wealth. He once said "I like being able to fire people" when talking about having the ability to choose service providers. He also has declared that he knew what it was like to worry about
being "pink-slipped" out of a job.This week, Romney said, "I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it," adding "My energy is going to be devoted to helping middle-income people.
They're the folks that are really struggling right now."
Romney has broached the subject of the poor repeatedly on the campaign trail but until this week had been more careful in his choice of words. "I worry about the
very poor and I want to make sure that our safety net is there," Romney said in New Hampshire in December, says the middle class are "the people I'm really concerned about right now."
Source: Associated Press report, "Romney triggers backlash"
John Walsh:
My dad was a union man, and my roots are in unions
Walsh--who has two grown children with his wife, Janet, and a grandchild--said he is a Democrat owing to his roots in the union stronghold of Butte. "My dad was a pipefitter and was a strong labor man,"
Walsh said. "I was raised with the Democratic values, Montana Democratic values and I have carried those values on throughout my lifetime."
Source: Associated Press in Washington Post, "Higher Profile"
Oct 3, 2013
Carte Goodwin:
Critical vote on extending unemployment benefits
Democrats now have a chance to extend unemployment benefits. His vote will prove critical in the first hour of his service in the Senate, said Sen. Jay Rockefeller. Goodwin will be sworn in on Tuesday afternoon, and minutes later, the Senate intends to
vote on extending unemployment benefits, a proposal that has so far been blocked by a Republican filibuster. " Goodwin will make the 60th vote in what is a very necessary piece of legislation," Rockefeller said. "We will pass unemployment legislation."
Source: Associated Press on cbsnews.com
Jul 16, 2010
Al Sharpton:
Raise minimum wage to at least $7.15
Q: What increases, if any, do you favor in the $5.15 an hour federal minimum wage?A: Let me say I would campaign for a $2 raise in minimum wage.
I think that the minimum wage at this point is unrealistic given the costs of life in America.
Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, “Minimum Wage”
Jan 25, 2004
Dennis Kucinich:
Raise minimum wage to over $8.50
Q: What increases, if any, do you favor in the $5.15 an hour federal minimum wage?A: I favor restoring the value that has been lost to inflation over the past 35 years,
which would mean a minimum wage of over $8.50. I favor indexing this to automatically keep pace with the cost of living.
Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, “Minimum Wage”
Jan 25, 2004
Howard Dean:
Raise minimum wage to $7.00
Q: What increases, if any, do you favor in the $5.15 an hour federal minimum wage?A: I favor increasing the federal minimum wage to $7 during my presidency.
Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, “Minimum Wage”
Jan 25, 2004
John Edwards:
Raise minimum wage to at least $6.65
Q: What increases, if any, do you favor in the $5.15 an hour federal minimum wage?A: I believe that low-income working people deserve better and support an increase in the minimum wage of at least $1.50.
Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, “Minimum Wage”
Jan 25, 2004
John Kerry:
Raise minimum wage to $6.65 by next year, then higher
Q: What increases, if any, do you favor in the $5.15 an hour federal minimum wage?A: If I am elected president, I will continue to support increasing the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation.
To begin with, I support increasing the minimum wage by $1.50 over the next year.
Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, “Minimum Wage”
Jan 25, 2004
Joseph Lieberman:
Raise minimum wage to $7.00
Q: What increases, if any, do you favor in the $5.15 an hour federal minimum wage?A: It simply isn’t possible to make ends meet at $5.15 an hour in most places in the country.
Workers need to make enough to have a decent life. We should raise the minimum wage to $7.
Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, “Minimum Wage”
Jan 25, 2004
Wesley Clark:
Raise minimum wage in steps to $7.00
Q: What increases, if any, do you favor in the $5.15 an hour federal minimum wage?A: I will raise the minimum wage in steps to $7 per hour by 2007 and expand the Earned Income Tax Credit to ensure that lower-income families are rewarded for their work
Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, “Minimum Wage”
Jan 25, 2004
Ron Kirk:
Kirk will be strong voice for undocumented workers
Kirk received the endorsement of the United Farm Workers union. Union officials said they see him as one who will champion their issues: higher wages and a safer workplace for farmhands, legal protections for undocumented immigrants, and
better housing and services in the Rio Grande Valley. Kirk said he would be a voice for undocumented workers, and that he supports a bill pending in Congress that would grant amnesty to hundreds of thousands of immigrants living illegally in the U.S.
Source: T.A. Badger, Associated Press
Apr 3, 2002
Al Gore:
Kill Freedom to Farm Act: keep price supports
Q: The Freedom to Farm Act cut price supports to farmers while giving them more freedom to plant what they want. Do you support this law? A: I believe we must maintain America’s food security and protect our vital agricultural lands. As president, I
will work to maintain flexibility and freedom in what farmers choose to plant while providing our independent family farmers the support they need during hard times. The fact that prices and farm income have remained so low for so long, and that billions
of dollars in emergency farm aid was needed over the past two years, shows that the ‘Freedom to Farm’ Act is misguided and wholly inadequate in a climate of declining crop prices and turmoil in overseas markets. I believe that we must restore the farm
income safety net for family farmers with a system that increases support when crop prices or yields fall unexpectedly. That doesn’t mean going back to an outdated system where government tells farmers what crops to produce.
Source: Associated Press
Sep 20, 2000
George W. Bush:
Keep Freedom to Farm Act: cut price supports
Q: The Freedom to Farm Act cut price supports to farmers while giving them more freedom to plant what they want. Do you support this law? A: Yes. The best way to ensure a strong and growing agricultural sector is through a
more market-driven approach that allows our farmers to fully participate in the world economy. As farming moves towards market-driven production, I believe the government should help farmers adapt to a global marketplace by providing
a strong safety net and the means to manage the cyclical downturns in the farm economy. I will reinforce the important role farmers and ranchers play in the U.S. economy by increasing trade opportunities, reducing regulatory
burdens, and reducing the overall tax burden. My administration will also renew our commitment to investments in new and innovative technologies for rural America.
Source: Associated Press
Sep 20, 2000
Al Gore:
To union: we disagree on China; but agree elsewhere
Gore made his case yesterday for the China trade bill to union workers.... Gore faced the difference of opinion head on, if not too enthusiastically. Reading from his text in even tones to a silent audience, Gore
said, “I respect the depth and strength of your feeling, but I’m also proud that on other great issues, you and I stand together - virtually on all of the other ones.” He spoke about his support for increasing
the minimum wage, expanding Medicare to cover prescription drugs and banning permanent striker replacements. The AFL-CIO has made defeat of the China trade bill its top legislative priority for the
year. Labor argues that free trade costs American jobs and does nothing to ensure labor rights overseas.
Source: (X-ref China) Sandra Sobieraj, Associated Press
May 22, 2000
Bill Bradley:
Family farms have no safety net; need foreign markets
“I would simply ask the family farmers of Iowa today, are you better off than you were seven years ago, or do we need a change?,” Bradley said. The agriculture sector is suffering through an economic downturn. Bradley said family farmers have no real
help, “no safety net whatsoever,” from the current administration. Bradley demanded that foreign markets be opened to genetically modified commodities. “The most important thing we can do is use our authority to petition to get access to markets.”
Source: Associated Press in the Brockton (MA) Enterprise, p. A7
Jan 9, 2000
Donald Trump:
Foreign companies are taking jobs from US
Trump said he wasn’t surprised by the violence this week at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle. Protesters there accused the global organization of considering only the needs of giant multinational corporations at the expense
of protecting the environment and worker rights. “I’m not so sure that anybody can dispute what’s happening in Seattle,” Trump said. “Jobs are going left and right. Foreign companies are ripping off the United States like never before.”
Source: Pat Eaton-Robb, Associated Press
Dec 2, 1999
Orrin Hatch:
Ethanol subsidies OK, but no federal gasohol requirements
Sen. Orrin Hatch said he supports ethanol subsidies in agricultural states, but maintained requiring the corn-based gasoline blend at the pump needs to be a state issue. “We need to use these agricultural products in every way we can,” Hatch said.
Critics argue that the tax subsidy benefits only a few large producers. The subsidy remains popular in farm states because ethanol creates new markets for corn and can help support corn prices at a time when commodity prices are at historic low levels.
Source: Ken Thomas, Associated Press, in Washington Post
Sep 18, 1999
Orrin Hatch:
Alternative fuels important to our energy security
[Regarding ethanol subsidies], Hatch said, “Some day it might come down to where we’re going to need this ethanol development to save our country.” Hatch said he’s learned the importance of developing gasoline alternatives during the gas shortages of the
mid-1970s. “We have to develop as many alternate sources of gasoline as we possibly can,” Hatch said. “This country runs on energy and we have to always have to be at the forefront of developing good energy, [via R&D or via] natural resources.”
Source: Ken Thomas, Associated Press, in Washington Post
Sep 18, 1999
Elizabeth Dole:
Tax breaks & financial aid for farmers
Dole outlined a 10-point package that would give new tax breaks and financial aid to US farmers. She would allow farmers to deduct 100% of their health insurance costs, try to increase exports under the Food for Peace program and take more acres out of
production by fully utilizing the Conservation Reserve Program.
Source: Associated Press
Aug 13, 1999
John McCain:
Ethanol subsidy is outdated; use funds for education
McCain proposed a school voucher program to offer education opportunities for disadvantaged children. He suggested paying for it by eliminating $5.4 billion worth of subsidies for ethanol, sugar, gas and oil. “We shouldn’t have special interest giveaways
at the expense of our neediest children,” McCain said, adding that the ethanol program was “simply an outdated subsidy for corn producers.”
Source: Mike Glover, Associated Press
Jul 29, 1999
Page last updated: Feb 15, 2019