Ted Cruz on Jobs Republican Texas Senator

Raising minimum wage costs jobs for the most vulnerable

Ted Cruz (R): No. "Raising the minimum wage would cost jobs for the most vulnerable."

Beto O'Rourke (D): Yes. Supports increasing to $15/hr.

Job outlook great for lobbyists; not so great for others

Pass a flat tax and abolish the IRS, and jobs will follow

A: If I'm elected president, here at home, we'll reignite the promise of America. Young people coming out of school, with student loans up to their eyeballs, will find instead of no jobs, two, three, four, five job opportunities. How will that happen? Through tax reform. We'll kill the terrorists, we'll repeal Obamacare, and we will defend the Constitution, every single word of it.

Raising minimum wage by executive fiat opposes rule of law

The president's taste for unilateral action to circumvent Congress should concern every citizen, regardless of party or ideology.

Rule of law doesn't simply mean that society has laws; dictatorships are often characterized by an abundance of laws. Rather, rule of law means that we are a nation ruled by laws, not men. That no one--and especially not the president--is above the law. For that reason, the U.S. Constitution imposes on every president the express duty to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed."

Lowest labor force participation in over three decades

CRUZ: Well, what I put out are the questions that I'm hearing from Texans all over the state. I spend a lot of time traveling the state of Texas listening to Texans. And the questions they raise--over and over again, they say, why are jobs and economic growth so dismal? We've got the lowest labor force participation in over three decades, since 1978. President Obama [should] address the fact that his economic policies are not working and that they're exacerbating income equality. They're hurting the people who are struggling the most.

Q: Well, of course, what he would say is that he is creating more jobs, that unemployment is going down and on and on. [Is this like when you] tried to shut down the government in demand for some action by the president?

CRUZ: President Obama dug in and said he wouldn't compromise. The senate Republicans were invited up to the White House and [Obama] said "I invited you here to tell you I will not negotiate."

Extending unemployment benefits exacerbates joblessness

A: The private sector creates jobs. But government can kill jobs. Extending unemployment benefits does exacerbate the jobless situation, because it subsidizes unemployment and increases the tax burdens on those who are employed. We should reform our tax code to be flatter and fairer, and pass a strong Balanced Budget Amendment to stop out-of-control government spending and debt. 25 million Americans are out of work because of foolish federal policies that are destroying jobs; I will lead the fight to reduce the burdens on small business and to unleash new jobs and vibrant economic growth.