National Public Radio: on Jobs

Linda McMahon: Minimum wage increases harm small businesses

Outside the debate, hundreds of supporters for both candidates tried to shout down one another. Blumenthal supporters, many representing local labor unions, brought a huge inflatable "fat cat" with the name tag Linda McMahon around its neck. The cat held an inflatable worker, which hoisted a sign that read: "Don't cut my minimum wage," a reference to McMahon's recent comments about how future minimum wage increases should be closely scrutinized to make sure small businesses are not being harmed.

Blumenthal criticized WWE accepting $10 million in state tax credits and later laying off 10% of its work force in 2009.

Richard Blumenthal: More job training and more R&D tax credits

Blumenthal said the government can do a better job providing financing and loans to businesses, as well as providing job training and targeted tax deductions for research and development, startup companies and firms that hire new workers. He also called for closing loopholes that allow U.S. companies to send jobs overseas.

McMahon, who used a clip from Blumenthal's response from an earlier debate about how to create a job, [in which Blumenthal stumbled over how government should be involved,] as a political ad, chided her opponent for improving his answer during this latest debate. "I'm very happy you have a notion on how to create jobs," McMahon said.

Pat Buchanan: Keeping US jobs benefits black middle class

A: Yeah, I do believe this: Of the folks we travel around the country; some of the friendliest ones are African-American folks and other minority folks because they do believe I’m fighting to keep in the US the kinds of jobs that their kids are going to need and going to have if they’re going to make it into the middle class. These manufacturing jobs in America that I’m trying to save aren’t for Pat Buchanan. They’re not for people in graduate schools. They’re the road to the middle class for kids who quit school after high school maybe because they got into a little bit of trouble, or maybe because they want to, or they’re tired of school. Those are the things that used to bring those folks into the middle class.