Cory Booker in The Atlantic
On Corporations:
Attacks on private equity "nauseating"
What Booker's critics mainly take issue with are his associations. Exhibit A is always Booker's notorious appearance on Meet the Press in May 2012, in which he called the Obama campaign's attacks on private equity "nauseating" and pleaded for more
civility in the campaign. Booker subsequently attempted to clarify that he supported the specific critiques of Mitt Romney's record that had been leveled, but for some liberals, the betrayal was complete and irreversible.
Booker has, it is true, raised plenty of money from Wall Street over the years. Of the $8.6 million he's raised for his Senate campaign, $531,000 came from the financial industry. This is hardly unique for a Democrat from New Jersey, a solidly blue
state where many financial firms are headquartered. Booker's campaign has also drawn $700,000 in donations from Silicon Valley. The ties go beyond campaign support: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has donated $100 million to improve Newark's schools.
Source: The Atlantic, "Why Do Liberals Hate Booker," by Molly Ball,
Aug 23, 2013
On Education:
Supports "Race to the Top" education reform
Booker's major substantive difference with many progressives is on education policy. He is -- like President Obama -- an advocate of the "education reform" movement; he has backed New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's expansion of charter schools and
merit pay for teachers, as well as a form of vouchers for some impoverished areas. He sits on the board of Democrats for Education Reform. During last summer's Democratic convention, Booker spoke at an event hosted by lightning-rod former
D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, who teachers unions see as working to privatize public education and undermine collective bargaining. The school-reform issue is the subject of a major schism in today's Democratic Party;
Obama's "Race to the Top" education initiative, which has encouraged state-level reforms, has infuriated traditional Democratic allies but also drawn support from many party officeholders.
Source: The Atlantic, "Why Do Liberals Hate Booker," by Molly Ball,
Aug 23, 2013
On Education:
Government should not profit from student debt
He argued that free college tuition is the wrong answer to an emerging workforce that needs more skills training.
He would make sure that existing federal student loans are refinanced so the government is no longer making money off college graduates' debt.
Source: The Atlantic, "Under the Radar," on 2020 Democratic primary
Apr 4, 2019
On Education:
Investment in education helps the whole society
The only thing I do want to take issue with is this idea of redistribution. I don't really think it is. When you make an investment in a kid's education,
it expands the economy. When you make an investment in every child having wealth, you actually expand the whole. It has a multiplier effect.
Source: The Atlantic, "Under the Radar," on 2020 Democratic primary
Apr 4, 2019
On Social Security:
Don't raise retirement age, except maybe for young workers
Booker has been deemed suspicious when it comes to entitlement reform. The sole concrete criticism was Booker "hinting that he'd be open to raising the Social Security retirement age for young people -- before backtracking furiously when progressives
called him on it." Booker had been paraphrased in the Bergen Record as saying that he "opposes raising the retirement age for most people in the country -- except, perhaps, for people in their 20s or younger."
When the vagueness of that position prompted furious criticism, Booker tweeted that he opposes all cuts to Social Security and Medicare; would, if anything, expand the programs; and also opposes raising the retirement age and curbing benefits
through the "chained CPI" inflation index. But the case against Booker seems to rest chiefly on tone and approach. It seems clear Booker will not be riding to Washington on a wave of esteem from national progressives.
Source: The Atlantic, "Why Do Liberals Hate Booker," by Molly Ball,
Aug 23, 2013
On Tax Reform:
Helped people claim earned-income tax credit
But then he talked about how to flex the earned-income tax credit, and the centers he set up in Newark when he was mayor to help poor people file their returns to claim it. He spoke about paid family leave, and how
American law should be at least as good as the policies in Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Source: The Atlantic, "Under the Radar," on 2020 Democratic primary
Apr 4, 2019
On Technology:
Millionaire from Silicon Valley-funded tech startup
Booker's donations from Silicon Valley go beyond campaign support: Various tech bigwigs have invested in Booker's dubious tech startup. The startup helped make Booker a millionaire; he also made over $1 million for speaking appearances. Critics charge
he's used his connections to enrich himself. Without those endeavors, his circumstances would be relatively modest for a political star with degrees from Stanford and Yale. (His salary as mayor, which he has cut twice while in office, was $174,000.)
Source: The Atlantic, "Why Do Liberals Hate Booker," by Molly Ball,
Aug 23, 2013
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