issues2000

Topics in the News: Unemployment


Tim Walz on Health Care : Aug 6, 2024
2020 COVID restrictions resulted in lower death rates

Walz's strategy to deal with the pandemic: spending big--partly thanks to the federal money cannon put into use by Trump--and using emergency powers to expand government authority to keep people whole while keeping them out of indoor spaces. Walz put in place a pause on evictions, made it easier to get unemployment insurance, and expanded support for food banks and homeless shelters to the tune of $100 million.

Republicans increasingly objected to and tried rolling back Walz's emergency powers, and protesters chafed at his stay-at-home orders. But Walz's approach--which combined near-constant public visibility with stubbornly defying political and business pressure to reopen before the vaccine rollout--ultimately paid off: by June 2021, Minnesota had a lower death rate from COVID than any surrounding state, at 136 deaths per 100,000. For Iowa and North Dakota, governed by Trump-emulating anti-restriction Republicans, that figure was 194 and 200, respectively.

Click for Tim Walz on other issues.   Source: Jacobin magazine on 2024 Vice Presidential hopefuls

Nikki Haley on Jobs : Jan 18, 2024
Retrain workers for post-AI, like when textiles went abroad

Q: What is your plan to deal with the loss of jobs that are being replaced by AI?

HALEY: When you create a platform like that, it always creates more jobs along the way. Our goal should be, how do we make sure those people have the skills to fit those new jobs? You know, when I came in [as Governor], we had 11% unemployment. All of the jobs in South Carolina had been in the textile industry. And when the textiles went overseas, so went our jobs. And so we started to recruit. And by the time I left, we were building planes with Boeing, more BMWs than any place in the world. We brought in Mercedes-Benz, five international tire companies. But our South Carolinians knew how to make textiles. We went and got them reskilled so that they could do the new jobs. That's the key is, don't leave anybody hanging. Anybody that has had a job that they're watching it go away by artificial intelligence, let's make sure they have the ability to get trained for new jobs that are coming in.

Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall: interviews of 2024 presidential candidates

Ron DeSantis on Education : Dec 6, 2023
Don't make truck drivers pay for brick-&-ivy gender studies

Another thing that's burdening young people are these student loans. Now, I don't support having a truck driver having to pay a student loan for someone that got a degree in gender studies. That is wrong, we should not have taxpayers do that. What I'm going to do though is I'm going to get to the root cause of the problem. These student loans are going to be backed by the universities because they need to have an incentive to produce gainful employment for people. They should not be indulging in ideological studies. They should be focusing on things that work, and we're going to take some of this money and we're going to move it to actual vocational training. In Florida, we doubled apprenticeships. We have more truck drivers, these are in- demand skills. Don't let anybody tell you that the only way you can be successful is through a four-year brick-and-ivy degree. That's one way you can be, it's not the only way, and we're going to fix that problem in the United States of America.
Click for Ron DeSantis on other issues.   Source: NewsNation 2023 Republican primary debate in Alabama

Joe Biden on Energy & Oil : Sep 27, 2023
Support electric vehicles AND union auto industry jobs

[Biden and Trump both visited Detroit during the auto strike]; over and over, Trump attacked Biden and his administration's policies on electric vehicles and clean energy as a threat to the auto industry and the livelihoods of auto industry workers. "Joe Biden came to Michigan to pose for photos at the picket line, but it's his policies that send Michigan auto workers to the unemployment line," Trump said. "My pledge to everyone is that a vote for President Trump means the future of the automobile will be made in America, fueled by American energy," said Trump.

In response to Trump's speech, Biden's campaign spokesman said, "Donald Trump is lying about President Biden's agenda to distract from his failed track record of trickle-down tax cuts, closed factories, and jobs outsourced to China. There is no 'EV mandate.' Simply put: Trump had the United States losing the EV race to China and if he had his way, the jobs of the future would be going to China."

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: Politico on 2023 Republican primary debate in Simi Valley

Donald Trump on Energy & Oil : Sep 27, 2023
No electric vehicles: economic nationalism for auto industry

Trump traveled to the Detroit area on Wednesday night to counterprogram the GOP's second debate. Over and over, Trump attacked Biden and his administration's policies on electric vehicles and clean energy as a threat to the auto industry and the livelihoods of auto industry workers. "Yesterday Joe Biden came to Michigan to pose for photos at the picket line, but it's his policies that send Michigan auto workers to the unemployment line," Trump said. Trump's speech was billed as being his "vision for a revival of economic nationalism and our automobile manufacturing lifeline."

"My pledge to everyone is that a vote for President Trump means the future of the automobile will be made in America," said Trump. "It will be fueled by American energy, sourced by American suppliers, it will be sculpted from American aluminum and steel, and it will be built by highly skilled American hands and high-wage, American labor."

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Politico on 2023 Republican primary debate in Simi Valley

Ron DeSantis on Welfare & Poverty : Sep 27, 2023
We believe in work; hence lowest welfare & unemployment

Q: Why is your record, in Florida, on health insurance coverage, worse than the national average?

DESANTIS: It's not. Our State's a dynamic state. We've got a lot of folks that come. Of course, we've had a population boom. We also don't have a lot of welfare benefits, in Florida. We're basically say, "This is a field of dreams; you can do well in the state." But we're not going to be like California, and have massive numbers of people on government programs, without work requirements. We believe [if you can] work, you got to do that. And that goes for all the welfare benefits. And you know what that's done? Our unemployment rate is the lowest, amongst any big state. We have the highest GDP growth of any big state.

Click for Ron DeSantis on other issues.   Source: Fox Business 2023 Republican primary debate in Simi Valley

Chris Christie on Budget & Economy : Aug 23, 2023
Work with Democrats to cut debt and cut unemployment

Gov. Ron DESANTIS: We must reverse Bidenomics so that middle class families have a chance to succeed again.

Gov. Chris CHRISTIE: I do agree predominantly with Gov. DeSantis. The difference is that we have to make sure that we sell these ideas. I was elected as a conservative Republican in a blue state with 61% of the vote, with a Democratic legislature and we brought them around to our point of view. We cut taxes in New Jersey. We cut debt in New Jersey. Each time we were confronted with bad Democratic ideas, we stopped them. And when there were good ideas, we brought people together to make progress.

Q: When you were governor, NJ had the 2nd-lowest credit rating in the nation, and it was downgraded 11 times.

CHRISTIE: Yes, that's what happens when you inherit a blue state. But we cut debt, debt that had been left to us by three Democratic gubernatorial predecessors. And cut the unemployment rate in half--and cut pension payments to public employees.

Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: Fox News 2023 Republican primary debate in Milwaukee

Tim Walz on Corporations : Jul 19, 2023
A place for both large corporate farms and family farms

When Walz touted low unemployment, [Republican opponent Scott] Jensen talked about inflation. When Walz said there was a place for both large corporate farms and family farms, Jensen said purchase of agricultural land by foreign corporations would happen "over my dead body," though state law already bars such purchases.

Walz went after Jensen as well, accusing him of seeing only negative statistics and neglecting the positive numbers. "If you're rooting against Minnesota being at the top, having the strongest state finances and the lowest unemployment … if you're rooting to see failure, that's what you're going to get," Walz said. "But it's not the job we're applying for."

Walz blamed Jensen's no-new-spending rhetoric for the failure of the budget and tax compromise at the Legislature and noted that tax cuts and spending on public schools and public safety were victims of the impasse.

Click for Tim Walz on other issues.   Source: MinnPost.com on 2022 Minnesota Gubernatorial race

Francis Suarez on Immigration : Jun 15, 2023
Connect immigration to employment, declining birth rate

He said his status as the only Hispanic candidate in the GOP race gives him "a lot of credibility" in a conversation about reforming immigration laws, though he was vague about what he'd propose. "I do think that we need to right-size legal immigration and that it should be connected to our employment rate and our declining birth rate," said Suarez, who has Cuban ancestry. "And I do think we have to do something with those who are undocumented in our country."
Click for Francis Suarez on other issues.   Source: Associated Press on 2023 Presidential hopefuls

Asa Hutchinson on Budget & Economy : May 7, 2023
I plan to reduce federal civilian employment by 10%

Whenever you look at reducing the size of the federal government and controlling spending, I presented the idea, the plan to reduce federal civilian employment by 10%. I can do that because we reduced it by 14% in Arkansas. And so these are specific plans that I present, and it's about the future. It's about the strength of America. It's about our leadership. So no, it's not about the past. It's about the future. And I think that resonates.
Click for Asa Hutchinson on other issues.   Source: Meet the Press on 2023 Presidential hopefuls

Nikki Haley on Jobs : May 7, 2023
Cutting taxes and regulations helped employment boom

Nikki threw herself into bringing jobs to her home state and proving that South Carolina--and America--could be a manufacturing powerhouse. Nikki cut taxes, nixed burdensome government regulations, and made small businesses a priority. At the end of Governor Haley's tenure, more South Carolinians were working than at any other time in history, and South Carolina was outperforming the national average. Thanks to her efforts, South Carolina's economy was nicknamed "the Beast of the Southeast."
Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.   Source: 2024 Presidential campaign website NikkiHaley.com

Donald Trump on Welfare & Poverty : Apr 1, 2023
Waive work requirement only if unemployment over 6%

Waivers from statutory work requirements [for welfare recipients] can be approved in two instances: an unemployment rate of more than 10 percent or a lack of sufficient jobs. The Trump Administration bolstered USDA work expectations in the food stamp program. In February 2019, FNS issued a modest regulatory change that applied only to able-bodied individuals without dependents-- Under the new rule, in order to waive the work requirement, the state's unemployment rate had to be above 6 percent for more than 24 months. The Trump reform was scheduled to go into effect, but a D.C. district court federal judge enjoined the rule. The USDA filed an appeal in late December 2020, but the Biden Administration withdrew from defending the challenge, and the rule was never implemented.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Project 2025, by the Heritage Foundation, p.299

Ron DeSantis on Crime : Mar 7, 2023
Increase penalties for fentanyl dealers, human smuggling

We need to increase penalties for fentanyl dealers, especially those who target our children. And to do that we must treat them like the murderers that they are. We must further strengthen our laws against illegal immigration by enhancing employment verification, increasing penalties for human smuggling and further disincentivizing illegal immigration to the state of Florida. Florida is not a sanctuary state and we will uphold the rule of law.
Click for Ron DeSantis on other issues.   Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Florida legislature

JD Vance on Principles & Values : May 3, 2022
Failure to thrive comes from lack of personal responsibility

His family were what he calls "hillbillies": white, working class, mostly of Scots-Irish decent and with no education beyond secondary school. In his book, Vance remembers the family as proud, clannish and occasionally violent.

Rather than sink into a familiar pattern of sporadic employment, drugs and violence, he joined the Marines for four years and served in Iraq before going to Ohio State University. There, he gained a degree in political science and philosophy. He gained admission to Yale Law School, where he began his memoir, published in 2016 just as Donald Trump was making his ultimately successful pitch for the US presidency.

While the book does not mention Trump, some commentators described it as a window into a conservative white working class often overlooked by Ivy League-educated coastal elites. Profoundly conservative, Vance put the blame of the hillbillies' failure to thrive on culture and a lack of personal responsibility, rather than systemic issues of economics and policy.

Click for JD Vance on other issues.   Source: BBC News commentary on "Hillbilly Elegy"

Joe Biden on Jobs : Mar 6, 2021
Extended unemployment benefits for COVID, to contractors too

PROMISE MADE: (2020 campaign website JoeBiden.com): Biden will provide further immediate relief to working families, small businesses, and communities. Biden will extend COVID crisis unemployment insurance to help those who are out of work.

PROMISE KEPT: (CNN March 6, 2021): The Senate version calls for providing a $300 federal boost to weekly jobless payments and extending two key pandemic unemployment benefits programs through September 6. The agreement would also make the first $10,200 worth of benefits payments tax-free for households with annual incomes less than $150,000.

OnTheIssues ANALYSIS: The extended unemployment benefits under previous legislation was scheduled to end in mid-March [and may get extended again beyond September 6]. The unemployment benefit applies to independent contractors, who are normally ineligible for unemployment.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: CNN "Senate stimulus" analysis of 2021 Biden Promises

Kristi Noem on Health Care : Feb 27, 2021
COVID didn't crash the economy; government crushed it

Lots of governors shut down their states. What followed was record unemployment, business is closed, most schools were shuttered and committees suffered. The U.S. economy came to an immediate halt. Let me be clear -- COVID did not crash the economy. Government crushed the economy. South Dakota is the only state in America that never ordered a single business or church to close. We never instituted a shelter-in-place order. We never mandated people wear masks.
Click for Kristi Noem on other issues.   Source: Remarks by Gov. Noem at the 2021 CPAC Conference

Ron DeSantis on Health Care : Feb 26, 2021
COVID: We got it right and the lock down states got it wrong

In Florida the schools are open. Every Floridian has a right to earn a living and all businesses have the right to operate. Florida has lower per-capita COVID mortality than a national average and lower than 27 other states. Our unemployment rate is lower than the national average. Tourism is fully back. Our budget is in great shape. We have not touched one red cent from our rainy day fund throughout this whole time. Florida got it right and the lock down states got it wrong.
Click for Ron DeSantis on other issues.   Source: Remarks by Senator DeSantis at the 2021 CPAC Conference

Donald Trump on Tax Reform : Oct 22, 2020
Cutting taxes & boosting economy most important to people

Q: Your closing statements?

TRUMP: We have to make our country successful, as it was prior to the plague. Now we're rebuilding it and we're doing record numbers, 11.4 million jobs in a short period of time. We had the best Black unemployment numbers in the history of our country. Hispanic, women, Asian, people with diplomas, with no diplomas, MIT graduates; number one in the class, everybody had the best numbers. And you know what? The other side wanted to get together. They wanted to unify. Success is going to bring us together. I'm cutting taxes, and he wants to raise everybody's taxes and he wants to put new regulations on everything. He will kill it. If he gets in, you will have a Depression.

BIDEN: I represent all of you, whether you voted for me or against me. We're going to choose science over fiction. We're going to choose hope over fear. What is on the ballot is the character of this country. Decency, honor, respect.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Third 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Kristen Welker

Mike Pence on Health Care : Oct 7, 2020
Trust people to make smart decisions, mandates not needed

HARRIS: The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country. 210,000 dead. Over 7 million who have contracted this disease. One in five businesses closed. We're looking at frontline workers who have been treated like sacrificial workers. We are looking at over 30 million people, who had to file for unemployment.

PENCE: President Trump and I trust the American people to make choices in the best interest of their health. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris consistently talk about mandates, and not just mandates with the Coronavirus, but a government takeover of healthcare, the Green New Deal, all government control. We're about freedom and respecting the freedom of the American people.

Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: 2020 Vice-Presidential Debate in Utah

Kamala Harris on Health Care : Oct 7, 2020
Trump knew the truth on coronavirus and covered it up

The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country. 210,000 dead. Over 7 million who have contracted this disease. One in five businesses closed. We're looking at frontline workers who have been treated like sacrificial workers. We are looking at over 30 million people, who had to file for unemployment. On January 28th, the vice president and the president were informed about the nature of this pandemic. They were informed that it's lethal in consequence, that it is airborne, that it will affect young people, and that it would be contracted because it is airborne. Can you imagine if you knew on January 28th, as opposed to March 13th, what they knew, what you might've done to prepare? They knew, and they covered it up. The president said it was a hoax.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: 2020 Vice-Presidential Debate in Utah

Donald Trump on Homeland Security : Sep 29, 2020
I created the Space Force and fixed the VA

There has never been an administration or president who has done more than I've done in a period of three and a half years. The greatest, before COVID came in, the greatest economy in history, lowest unemployment numbers, everything was good. Everything was going. There was unity going to happen. People were calling me for the first time in years and they were saying it's time and then what happened? We got hit. But now we're building it back up again. A rebuilding of the military, including Space Force and all of the other things. A fixing of the VA which was a mess under him, 308,000 people died because they didn't have proper health care. It was a mess. And we now got a 91% approval rating at the VA, our vets. We take care of our vets. But we've rebuilt our military.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace

Donald Trump on Civil Rights : Sep 28, 2020
Agrees vibrant economy key to addressing racial tensions

Q: You believe that the key to addressing racial tensions is to have a vibrant economy?

TRUMP: That's right. We had the best African American employment numbers in history by far, not even close. We had the best Hispanic American, the best Asian American, the best numbers in history. We had the greatest economy in the history of the world and we had to close it because of the China virus.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: AARP Survey on 2020 Presidential hopefuls

Mike Pence on Jobs : Sep 22, 2020
Raising minimum wage is inflationary; would eliminate jobs

According to a Mike Pence press release obtained via Congressional Press Releases, "'Minimum wage increases raise unemployment among teenagers, minorities and part-time workers. The minimum wage violates fundamental free market economics. It costs jobs, and I cannot support policies that will take jobs from those who need a paycheck the most." [Congressional Press Releases, 7/29/06]

"[Pence's opponent] supports an increase in the minimum wage, currently at $3.35 an hour. Pence opposes an increase, saying it would be inflationary. Pence referred to a study that concluded that increasing the minimum wage could eliminate 12,000 jobs in the 2nd District by 1992." [Indianapolis Star, 10/12/88]

"In 2013, House Democrats proposed a bill that would bring the minimum wage to $8.25. Governor Mike Pence made his opposition apparent when he signed into law a bill that prohibits local governments from requiring a higher wage." [Indiana Statesman: Indiana State University, 9/24/14]

Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: Trump Research Book on Mike Pence

Donald Trump on Civil Rights : Sep 15, 2020
Best employment & best homeownership for Black Americans

Q: When has America been great for African Americans?

TRUMP: We have tremendous African American support. If you look at just prior to this horrible situation coming in from China, when the virus came in, that was the probably the highest point, home ownership for the black community, homeownership, lower crime, the best jobs they've ever had, highest income, the best employment numbers they've ever had. If you go back and you want to look over many years, go back six or seven months, that was the best single moment in the history of the African-American people in this country

Q: Your statement is though, make it great again. Are you aware of how tone deaf that comes off to the African American community? You have yet to acknowledge that there's been a race problem in America.

TRUMP: Well, I hope there's not a race problem. I can tell you, there's none with me, because I have great respect for all races, for everybody. This country is great because of it.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: ABC This Week: special edition 2020 Town Hall interview

Donald Trump on Free Trade : Jun 9, 2020
Trade battles with China, Germany, Britain, France, & Canada

During most of 2018-2019, the US president launched the largest trade war in a generation. Though played out through goods and services rather than bullets, a trade war has a real effect on everyday lives. The US consumer bears the majority of costs passed along to businesses and hidden in the prices we pay. Economically struggling Americans feel the results in daily life, especially those who face stagnant wages that have not grown despite having the lowest unemployment we've ever had. The average American cannot recover from a trade war with the same resilience that a corporation can. The only solution will be to actually engage in a trade policy that is not based on populist brinksmanship, which is what we've seen played out for the last few years. As Trump positions China front and center, our country is also embroiled in trade battles with historic allies such as Germany, Britain, France, and Canada.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Our Time Is Now, by Stacey Abrams, p.226

Joe Biden on Budget & Economy : Apr 9, 2020
Recovery package must provide state aid, hazard pay

In addition to funds to keep workers on payroll, the next recovery package will need to provide significant funds to states, to make sure that educators and health care workers and first responders can keep getting paid. It will have to provide hazard pay to frontline workers putting themselves at risk. It will have to extend unemployment benefits, and provide further direct cash relief, through a cancellation of a minimum of $10,000 of student debt per person and Social Security boosts.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: Medium.com blog on 2020 presidential hopefuls

Ron DeSantis on Jobs : Apr 3, 2020
Oversaw unemployment system with maximum $275/week benefit

The new online [unemployment application] system was part of a series of changes designed to limit benefits. The ultimate goal--which it delivered on--was to lower unemployment taxes paid by Florida businesses. A 2011 analysis done by the Florida Legislature estimated that the changes pushed by Scott would save businesses more than $2.3 billion between 2011 and 2020.

Most of those who do submit applications won't qualify for aid, and the benefits that are paid out are among the most meager in the country--a maximum of $275 a week. "Everyone we talk to in that office when we ask them what happened tells us, 'the system was designed to fail,'" one DeSantis adviser said. "That's not a problem when unemployment is 2.8 percent, but it's a problem now. And no system we have can handle 25,000 people a day."

Click for Ron DeSantis on other issues.   Source: Politico blog on 2022 Florida Gubernatorial race

Donald Trump on Welfare & Poverty : Mar 24, 2020
Suspends some SNAP limits; may still curtail eligibility

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it will comply with a recently passed law suspending limits on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for unemployed adults for the duration of the coronavirus crisis. There are two other SNAP cuts pending, and USDA spokespeople declined to say whether the department still planned to finalize an eligibility change that would shrink enrollment by about 3 million.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Huffington Post on Trump Administration

Donald Trump on Jobs : Feb 4, 2020
Unemployment at record low, including women & disabled

From the instant I took office, I moved rapidly to revive the United States economy--slashing a record number of job-killing regulations, enacting historic and record-setting tax cuts, and fighting for fair and reciprocal trade agreements. Since my election, we have created 7 million new jobs--5 million more than Government experts projected during the previous administration.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: 2020 State of the Union address to Congress

Donald Trump on Welfare & Poverty : Feb 4, 2020
7M people off welfare and food stamps

The unemployment rate is the lowest in over half a century. Incredibly, the average unemployment rate under my Administration is lower than any administration in the history of our country. If we had not reversed the failed economic policies of the previous administration, the world would not now be witness to America's great economic success.

The unemployment rates for African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Asian-Americans have reached the lowest levels in history. African-American youth unemployment has reached an all-time low. The unemployment rate for women reached the lowest level in almost 70 years--and last year, women filled 72% of all new jobs added. A record number of young Americans are now employed.

Under the last administration, more than 10 million people were added to the food stamp rolls. Under my Administration, 7 million Americans have come off of food stamps, and 10 million people have been lifted off of welfare.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: 2020 State of the Union address to Congress

Doug Burgum on Local Issues : Jan 29, 2020
People won't move here if spouse faces licensure barrier

We have to work to break down the barriers to employment. Working with the legislature last year we removed the occupational licensing and certification barriers for military spouses. But we still have too much red tape across 80 licensing organizations. We're losing ground to states like Arizona that last year adopted universal licensing recognition. People won't move here if their spouse can't get a job because of licensure barriers.
Click for Doug Burgum on other issues.   Source: 2020 North Dakota State of the State address

Tim Walz on Social Security : Dec 11, 2019
Establish Council on Age-Friendly Minnesota

There are one million older adults in Minnesota and that figure is growing rapidly. In 2020, the number of older adults in Minnesota over age 65 will exceed the number of children under age 18. Older adults may face challenges related to financial security, housing, transportation, health care, employment, and social service needs. In addition, thousands of direct support workers and the estimated 650,000 family and friends who provide unpaid caregiving are struggling to meet the ever-increasing demand for care.
Click for Tim Walz on other issues.   Source: Minnesota voting records: Executive Order 19-38

Donald Trump on Welfare & Poverty : Dec 5, 2019
New rule will cut SNAP benefits for 688,000

Hundreds of thousands of Americans who rely on the federal food stamp program will lose their benefits under a new Trump administration rule that will tighten work requirements for recipients. The plan will limit states from exempting work-eligible adults from having to maintain steady employment in order to receive benefits. The Agriculture Department estimates the change would save roughly $5.5 billion over five years and cut benefits for roughly 688,000 SNAP recipients.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Chicago Tribune interview on Trump Administration

Kamala Harris on Civil Rights : Oct 10, 2019
End unequal treatment under law by sexual orientation

Q: What protections can you put into place to ensure all Americans have a discrimination-free workplace?

HARRIS: How can we defend that our LGBTQ brothers and sisters are treated differently under the law when they walk into their place of work? I will fight for equality. We saw great success in terms of marriage. But there is still not full equality for members of the LGBTQ community, and that relates to housing, it relates to employment, it relates to education, and many other issues.

Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: CNN LGBT Town Hall 2020

Kamala Harris on Health Care : Jul 31, 2019
Separate employment from healthcare, but not illegal

Sen. Michael BENNET: The plan that Senator Harris proposed would make illegal employer based health insurance in this country and massively raise taxes.

HARRIS: My plan does not offer anything that is illegal. What it does is it separates the employer from healthcare, meaning that the kind of healthcare you get will not be a function of where you work. I have me met so many Americans who stick to a job that they do not like, where they are not prospering simply because they need the healthcare that that employer provides. It's time that we separate employers from the kind of healthcare people get and under my plan, we do that as it relates to the insurance and the pharmaceutical companies, who will not be taken to task by Senator Bennet's plan. We will do that.

BENNET: We need to be honest about what's in this plan. It bans employer based insurance and taxes the middle class to the tune of $30 trillion

Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)

Kamala Harris on Budget & Economy : Jun 27, 2019
Economic numbers conceal more than reveal

This president walks around flouting his great economy. You ask him, how are you measuring this greatness? He talks about the stock market. That's fine if you own stocks; many families do not. You ask him, how are you measuring the greatness of this economy? They point to the jobless numbers and the unemployment numbers. People in America are working. They're working two and three jobs. No one should have to work more than one job to have a roof over their head and food on the table.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)

Howie Hawkins on Civil Rights : May 28, 2019
Amend Civil Rights Act to include LGBTQIA+

We will campaign for the freedom of the LGBTQIA+ community, in particular for passage of the Equality Act to amend the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, education, housing, credit, public accommodations, adoption, foster parenting, public spaces and services, federally-funded programs, military service, and jury service.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.   Source: Declaration of Candidacy for the Green Party Nomination

Howie Hawkins on Civil Rights : May 19, 2019
Reparations for African-Americans slavery

Ending racial oppression requires both race-specific remedies and universal economic rights that are guaranteed by government in a race-conscious way. We must strengthen and enforce antidiscrimination laws in the political, employment, education, housing, immigration, and criminal justice systems. We must take affirmative action to reverse the growing race and class resegregation of housing and schools. We must enact HR 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act, to consider appropriate remedies for the impact of slavery and subsequent racial discrimination on living African Americans. We must empower racially oppressed communities to practice self-determination through collective community ownership and control of public housing, schools, police, and businesses.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.   Source: 2020 Presidential Campaign website HowieHawkins.us

Kamala Harris on Civil Rights : Apr 22, 2019
Legalize sex work, but fight trafficking and abuse

When I was DA, I instituted a number of policies that focused on women and children and how they were treated with bias in the criminal justice system without really looking at the real offender: the pimps and the johns. We really need to focus on the other folks and not just on the women. We should not be criminalizing women who are engaged in consensual opportunities for employment. But we should definitely be careful and be sure that they are not being trafficked or abused in any way.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall 2020: 5 candidates back-to-back

Marianne Williamson on Civil Rights : Apr 8, 2019
$200 billion for reparations for slavery

Just as Germany has paid $89 Billion in reparations to Jewish organizations since WW2, the US should pay reparations for slavery. A debt unpaid is still a debt unpaid, even if it's 150 years later. The legacy of that injustice lives on, with racist policies infused into our systems even to this day. From employment and housing discrimination, to equal access to quality education in underserved communities, to police brutality/prejudice, to lack of fair lending practices, to lack of access to quality healthcare, to insecure voting rights, America has not yet completed the task of healing our racial divide.

For that reason, I propose a $200 billion-$500 billion plan of reparations for slavery, the money to be disbursed over a period of 20 years. An esteemed council of African-American leaders would determine the educational and economic projects to which the money would be given.

Racism is an American character defect, for which we must atone, make amends, and be willing to change.

Click for Marianne Williamson on other issues.   Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Marianne2020.com

Bernie Sanders on Jobs : Apr 5, 2019
End racism in hiring, redlining, & disparate pay

Studies show African American job applicants receive far fewer job callbacks--and we still see the same levels of hiring discrimination that we saw 30 years ago. Together, we must end the disparities and racism that exist in employment practices.

African Americans often face higher interest rates on loans and mortgages than others with a similar credit score, and black small businesses are unable to get the affordable credit they need to grow and expand. Together, we will end redlining in the financial services industry.

At a time when women in this country earn about 80 cents on the dollar compared to men, black women earn all of 61 cents for every dollar white men make. That is unacceptable. We believe in equal pay for equal work, whether you're a man or a woman, man, black, white, Latino or whatever.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Speech transcript from National Action Network Convention

Dean Phillips on Civil Rights : Mar 13, 2019
Supports Equality Act and extraordinary LGBTQ community

Rep. Phillips announced that he is an original co-sponsor of the Equality Act, a bill aimed at ending discrimination against LGBTQ Americans in public accommodations, education, federal financial assistance, employment, housing, credit and federal jury service.

"It's time to end the era of uncertainty and discrimination against our LGBTQ friends, neighbors and family members," said Phillips. "Our nation was built on the promise of equality and opportunity, and the Equality Act extends that promise to our extraordinary LGBTQ community. I'm proud to help introduce this long overdue legislation in the House today and will continue working hard to make sure the Equality Act is signed into law."

Amending existing civil rights law provides clarity and consistency for individuals who experience discrimination as well as for businesses and organizations trying to comply with the law. More than 160 corporations have endorsed the legislation.

Click for Dean Phillips on other issues.   Source: 2020 MN-3 House campaign website phillips.house.gov

Bernie Sanders on Jobs : Feb 6, 2019
FactCheck: Unemployment under Trump is lowest in decades

A "fact-check" video by Bernie Sanders misrepresents employment data in an attempt to prove President Trump "wrong" about the economy. The data actually show employment continues to improve under Trump.

The video features Warren Gunnels, the senator's top aide on the Senate budget committee. Trump said in the SOTU speech, "unemployment has reached the lowest rate in over half a century." The official unemployment rate dropped as low as 3.7% in November--marking the first time it had been that low since 1969.

In the "fact-check" video, Gunnels says "the real unemployment rate--which includes those who have given up looking for work and those who are working part time when they need a full-time job--is 8.1%, not 4%." Gunnels is referring to the U-6, an "alternative measure of labor underutilization." Gunnels is right that the U-6 rate is 8.1%. But this is what he doesn't tell his viewers: Under Trump, the U-6 rate had dropped to its lowest level in 17 years, the lowest since April 2001.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: FactCheck.org on 2019 State of the Union response

Donald Trump on Jobs : Feb 6, 2019
FactCheck: Unemployment under Trump is lowest in decades

A "fact-check" video by Bernie Sanders misrepresents employment data in an attempt to prove President Trump "wrong" about the economy. The data actually show employment continues to improve under Trump.

The video features Warren Gunnels, the senator's top aide on the Senate budget committee. Trump said in the SOTU speech, "unemployment has reached the lowest rate in over half a century." The official unemployment rate dropped as low as 3.7% in November--marking the first time it had been that low since 1969.

In the "fact-check" video, Gunnels says "the real unemployment rate--which includes those who have given up looking for work and those who are working part time when they need a full-time job--is 8.1%, not 4%." Gunnels is referring to the U-6, an "alternative measure of labor underutilization." Gunnels is right that the U-6 rate is 8.1%. But this is what he doesn't tell his viewers: Under Trump, the U-6 rate had dropped to its lowest level in 17 years, the lowest since April 2001.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: FactCheck.org on 2019 State of the Union address

Donald Trump on Families & Children : Feb 5, 2019
Doubled the child tax credit

Unemployment has reached the lowest rate in half a century. African-American, Hispanic-American and Asian-American unemployment have all reached their lowest levels ever recorded. More people are working now than at any time in our history--157 million.

We passed a massive tax cut for working families and doubled the child tax credit. We virtually ended the estate, or death, tax on small businesses, ranches, and family farms.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: 2019 State of the Union address to United States Congress

Tulsi Gabbard on Health Care : Jan 14, 2019
Supports Medicare-for-All; tax wealthiest 5% to pay for it

Gabbard co-sponsored a bill to create a government-run system to provide health care for all residents of the United States. That bill, "The Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act," would pay for health care by increasing taxes on the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans, create a progressive excise tax on payroll and self-employment, tax unearned income, and also tax stock and bond transactions (not just the gains from those transactions).
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.   Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls

Bernie Sanders on Foreign Policy : Apr 1, 2018
Gaza is humanitarian disaster; Israelis shouldn't over-react

Q: You have been critical of the Israeli government's decision to use lethal force against Palestinian demonstrators, killing 15, wounding over 700. The Trump administration has stopped short of calling on Israel for restraint. Should they explicitly do so?

SANDERS: Yes, they should. Look, Gaza, as I think everybody knows, is a humanitarian disaster. The unemployment rate there is beyond comprehension. And there is just enormous unrest. What the function of the United States government should be right now is to sit down with the Israelis, sit down with the Palestinians and figure out how we can rebuild Gaza.

Q: We should note, the Palestinian Authority did boycott a meeting at the White House recently to talk about rebuilding Gaza.

SANDERS: We should also to tell the Israelis that when you've got tens and tens of thousands of people protesting, they cannot overreact. And the idea of 15 or so people being killed and hundreds being wounded is, to me, unacceptable.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls

Donald Trump on Jobs : Jan 30, 2018
200,000 new manufacturing jobs with lowest unemployment ever

Since the election, we have created 2.4 million new jobs, including 200,000 new jobs in manufacturing alone. After years of wage stagnation, we are finally seeing rising wages. Unemployment claims have hit a 45-year low. African-American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded, and Hispanic American unemployment has also reached the lowest levels in history.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: 2018 State of the Union address to United States Congress

Chris Christie on Crime : Jan 9, 2018
Expunge records for less serious crimes

No longer can an employer make a job applicant with a criminal record check a box and end their chances of redemptive employment--together we have banned the box in New Jersey. Crimes of our youth can now be expunged in three years, adult crimes in six years and many more crimes are eligible for life changing expungement. County prison population is already down 17% and two state prisons have been closed, saving countless millions for taxpayers.
Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: 2018 New Jersey State of the State address

Donald Trump on Jobs : Jan 8, 2018
Fact-check: African-American unemployment lowest in history

TRUMP: Since the election, we have created 2.4 million new jobs. Unemployment claims have hit a 45-year low. African-American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded, and Hispanic American unemployment has also reached the lowest levels in history [TV camera shows Congressional Black Caucus members who did not applaud--why not?]

NPR Fact-Check: Trump's numbers are right, but it's generally a stretch for presidents to take credit for job creation. The unemployment rate for black Americans is currently 6.8%, the lowest level recorded since the government started keeping track in 1972. And Hispanic unemployment rate is at 4.9%, close to a record low. However, Trump is implying that he caused these low African-American and Hispanic unemployment rates. But those rates had been falling relatively steadily since around 2010, under Pres. Obama, and their declines don't appear to have picked up speed. This implies that there's nothing specific that Trump did to change this rate

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: NPR Fact-Check on 2018 State of the Union address

Bernie Sanders on Welfare & Poverty : Oct 27, 2017
Puerto Rico nearly bankrupt after Great Recession

Since 2006, Puerto Rico had lost 20% of its jobs, and about 60% of Puerto Rico's adult population were unemployed. In other words, Puerto Rico remained in the midst of a major and prolonged depression.

As a result of its economic crisis, the Puerto Rican government was deep in debt and heading toward bankruptcy. Wall Street institutions, sensing the opportunity to make a killing at the expense of a weak and impoverished territory, were there to "help." They lent the government money at usurious interest rates.

In 2015, Puerto Rico owed over $70 billion and was paying, in some cases, a 34% interest rate on tax-exempt bonds that vulture capitalists purchased at 29 cents on the dollar. The people of Puerto Rico should not be forced to suffer even more in order that a handful of wealthy investors could make outrageous profits. I called on those investors to take a major "haircut" and understand that they could not make huge profits off a deeply impoverished and suffering island.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Where We Go From Here, by Bernie Sanders, p.112-3

Donald Trump on Immigration : Feb 28, 2017
Restore integrity at borders instead of lawless chaos

My Administration has answered the pleas of the American people for immigration enforcement & border security. By finally enforcing our immigration laws, we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions of dollars, and make our communities safer for everyone. We want all Americans to succeed--but that can't happen in an environment of lawless chaos. We must restore integrity and the rule of law to our borders.

For that reason, we will soon begin the construction of a great, great wall along citizens.

To any in Congress who do not believe we should enforce our laws, I would ask you this question: what would you say to the American family that loses their job or a loved one, because America refused to uphold its laws & defend its borders?

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: 2017 State of the Union address to Congress

Chris Christie on Immigration : Feb 12, 2017
Focus on deporting dangerous criminals with laws we've got

Q: ICE raids are supposed to be deporting dangerous individuals. But one of those deported was Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos. In 2008, she illegally used someone else's Social Security number for employment at a water park, for which she was charged with a felony.

CHRISTIE: This is the problem with the failure of the federal government over the last 16 years in not bringing some sense of order to this. When that's the case, then the laws that are in effect right now have to be enforced. The president's desire is to make sure that first they get violent criminals out of the US; that is, I think, what ICE is attempting to do. But things don't go perfectly. And so you are going to have some people who have violated the law, but don't fit that one category. But that will be the overwhelming minority in all this. What people should focus on is what the president is trying to do, which is making sure that violent criminals who are here illegally are taken out of the country.

Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: CNN "State of the Union" 2017 interview by Jake Tapper

Bernie Sanders on Budget & Economy : Nov 15, 2016
2008 Crash's foreclosures brought about by deregulation

As a result of the financial meltdown of 2008, more than 9 million American jobs were destroyed. Real unemployment skyrocketed to more than 17 percent, as more than 27 million workers were unemployed, under-employed, or had stopped looking for work altogether.

The American dream of homeownership turned into a nightmare of foreclosure for millions of households, as more and more people could not afford to pay their mortgages. This was bound to happen. For years, financial predators received fat commissions form lenders for steering Americans into the riskiest subprime mortgages imaginable--no documentation, no job, no income... no problem. And then, the banks bundled those mortgages, over and over again, into almost worthless and unregulated derivatives, until the house of cards collapsed.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p. 298

Bernie Sanders on Free Trade : Nov 15, 2016
American jobs must no longer be our number one export

Economists across the political spectrum--including the pro-NAFTA Peterson Institute for International Economics, which estimated that 39 percent of the growth in U.S. wage inequality is attributable to our disastrous trade deals--agree that "free" trade has contributed to rising U.S. income inequality. U.S. manufacturing workers who lose jobs to trade and find new employment are typically forced to take significant pay cuts. Three out of every five displaced manufacturing workers who were rehired in 2014 took home smaller paychecks, and one out of three lost more than 20 percent of his or her income.

We have got to turn this around/ American jobs must no longer be our number one export. We must not only defeat the TPP, we must fundamentally renegotiate our failed trade agreements--including NAFTA, PNTR with China, and other existing trade pacts.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p. 295

Bernie Sanders on Jobs : Nov 15, 2016
A job is more than income; it's how we relate to the world

In a modern democratic society, people have the right to a decent job at decent pay. Let's put the unemployed and underemployed to work transforming America.

A job is more than a "job". It is more than just making an income. A job is, in an important sense, how we relate to the world in which we live. Being a productive member of society, a contributor to the well-being of our neighbors and our community, gives our lives meaning, dignity, and satisfaction. In 1944, in his second-to-last State of the Union speech, FDR stated, "We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence."

If we are serious about reversing the decline of the middle class, we need a

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p. 241-2

Bernie Sanders on Jobs : Nov 15, 2016
Establish worker-owned cooperatives to counter corporations

We must develop new economic models to create jobs and increase wages and productivity. Instead of giving huge tax breaks to corporations that ship our jobs to China, we need to provide assistance to workers who want to purchase their own businesses by establishing worker-owned cooperatives and majority owned employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Study after study has shown that employee ownership increases employment, increases productivity, increase sales, and increases wages in the United States.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p. 260

Jill Stein on Immigration : Oct 9, 2016
H1-B Visa program is ok, but help global economy abroad

Q: What is your opinion of recent controversy over employment and the H1-B Visa program?

JILL STEIN: We support the H1-B Visa program. However, we must look at it in the context of overall immigration policy, trade, economic and military policies. In the big picture, we are concerned about a global economy in which people have to leave their home countries to find decent jobs. We support more just international development and demilitarization, so that people don't have to go half way around the world to find just employment.

DONALD TRUMP: We cannot allow companies to abuse this system. When we have American citizens and those living in the United States legally being pushed out of high paying jobs so that they can be replaced with "cheaper" labor, something is wrong. The H1-B system should be employed only when jobs cannot be filled with qualified Americans and legal residents.

Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: ScienceDebate.org: 20 questions for 2016 presidential race

Mike Pence on Jobs : Oct 4, 2016
Indiana's unemployment rate was cut in half since 2013

Pence asserted, "In the state of Indiana, we've cut unemployment in half; unemployment doubled when [Kaine] was governor." Are both true?

Fact Check: While the claim is factual, Kaine's gubernatorial tenure ended in 2010 (the year when the national unemployment rate peaked) and Pence's gubernatorial tenure began in 2013 (i.e., more than 2 years after the Great Recession officially ended and the national economy was expanding).

Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: FactCheck.org on 2016 Vice-Presidential Debate

Doug Burgum on Civil Rights : Jun 25, 2016
No discrimination because of sexual orientation

Q: Would you support discrimination protections for LGBT citizens?

Nelson: Yes.

Stenehjem: I do support extending anti-discrimination protections for the LBGT community in housing and employment. One thing that will be necessary is to establish that discrimination in that area is a problem that needs to be addressed. No one should have to worry about finding a job or a place to live because of their sexual orientation. But these protections must also be accompanied by protections for religious freedom, especially as it relates to small business.

Burgum: As with any legislation, the specific language is very important. I believe no one should be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation and would want to work with the legislature to appropriately address this issue.

Click for Doug Burgum on other issues.   Source: Grand Forks Herald on 2016 North Dakota Gubernatorial debate

Bernie Sanders on Jobs : Mar 9, 2016
Minority youth more underemployed than others

We have a crisis with youth unemployment. If you look at Latino kids between 17 and 20 who graduated high school, 36 percent of them are unemployed or underemployed. African-American kids are unemployed or underemployed to the tune of 51 percent. That's why I co-sponsored legislation to put $5 billion into a jobs program to put our kids to work because I would rather invest in education and jobs than jails and incarceration. We have got to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: 2016 PBS Democratic primary debate in Miami

Bernie Sanders on Crime : Feb 11, 2016
We need fundamental police reform

CLINTON: We have to restore policing that will actually protect the communities that police officers are sworn to protect. But, I would also add this. There are other racial discrepancies. Really systemic racism in this state, as in others, education, in employment, in the kinds of factors that too often lead from a position where young people, particularly young men, are pushed out of school early, are denied employment opportunities. So, when we talk about criminal justice reform and ending the era of mass incarceration, we also have to talk about jobs, education, housing, and other ways of helping communities.

SANDERS: We need fundamental police reform. I would hope that we could all agree that we are sick and tired of seeing videos on television of unarmed people, often African-Americans, shot by police officers.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: 2016 PBS Democratic debate in Wisconsin

Bernie Sanders on Drugs : Jan 17, 2016
Why police records for marijuana but not white collar crime?

CLINTON: One out of three African American men may well end up going to prison.

SANDERS: Let me respond to what the secretary said. We have a criminal justice system which is broken. Who in America is satisfied that we have more people in jail than any other country on Earth, including China? Disproportionately African American, and Latino. Who is satisfied that 51% of African American young people are either unemployed, or underemployed? Who is satisfied that millions of people have police records for possessing marijuana when the CEO's of Wall Street companies who destroyed our economy have no police records. We need to take a very hard look at our criminal justice system, investing in jobs and education, not in jails and incarceration.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: 2016 NBC Democratic presidential primary debate

Jill Stein on Jobs : Oct 14, 2015
Guaranteed jobs for all who need work

Let's talk about what you didn't hear--and won't hear--from the Democratic candidates.On issue after issue, we're calling for the solutions we really need--while the establishment parties are offering either band-aids, or nothing.
Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: Green Party response to 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate

Bernie Sanders on Crime : Oct 13, 2015
America has more people in jail than any country on earth

Today in America, we have more people in jail than any other country on Earth. African-American youth unemployment is 51 percent. Hispanic youth unemployment is 36 percent. It seems to me that instead of building more jails and providing more incarceration, maybe--just maybe--we should be putting money into education and jobs for our kids.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas

Bernie Sanders on Civil Rights : Sep 5, 2015
Vermont implemented ENDA 22 years ago; so should feds

Q: Despite progress, we have a ways to go with regards to LGBTQ issues in the workplace.

A: Unfortunately many LGBTQ people still feel uncomfortable or even unsafe coming out in their workplaces. And they can't be blamed--they're paid less and have fewer employment opportunities than non-LGBTQ Americans. Bernie voted in favor of the Employment Discrimination Act in 2009 to prohibit workplace discrimination as a result of sexual orientation. He commended Pres. Obama last year after he prohibited discrimination against gay and transgender federal employees saying:

"We've got to end LGBT discrimination in the workplace. Vermont did this 22 years ago when it passed one of the first state laws in the country protecting lesbian and gay workers. Congress should have acted long ago, House Republicans won't even allow a vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act [ENDA] that the Senate passed last year. That's why Pres. Obama's executive order is an important step in the right direction."

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: 2016 grassroots campaign website FeelTheBern.org, "Issues"

Donald Trump on Jobs : Aug 2, 2015
Take jobs back from foreign countries to lower unemployment

My policy is going to be something that's going to set the country back right. I mean, one of the big things is we have to take back jobs from China.

We have to take back jobs from Japan, and Vietnam, and Mexico, and virtually everybody that's taking our jobs and ruining our manufacturing base. And we have to put people to work. Because the real unemployment number is probably 21%. People give up looking for jobs. And they no longer become a statistic. And it's very unfair. So we have to put our country back to work. We have to get great jobs for people and good paying jobs for people. And we're going to be just fine.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Meet the Press 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls

Jill Stein on Families & Children : Jul 6, 2015
Kids in poverty can't go to school in condition to learn

OnTheIssues: Given that you reject Common Core, how should we frame educational policy?

Stein: Education is inseparable from child health--kids living in poverty, in a food desert, their families subject to homelessness and unemployment--there's no way those kids can come to school in a condition to learn. As a first order of business, education needs to be integrated into a total system of eliminating poverty. As a first step, kids need to eat well, and should not be coming to school fed the kind of food that is inflicted on low-income communities. The prevailing wisdom is that you just need to test kids harder--it's so clueless that we've developed this concept of education as separate from the health of the child--[as if kids are] not subject to pollution exposure, food issues, dodging bullets, etc.

Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: Phone interview on 2016 presidential race by OnTheIssues.org

Bernie Sanders on Budget & Economy : Jun 28, 2015
Economic issues take a larger toll on minority groups

I think the nationwide issues that we are dealing with, combating youth unemployment, talking about the need that public colleges and universities should be tuition free, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, creating millions of jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure, are issues that should apply to every American.

But to be honest with you, given the disparity that we're seeing in income and wealth in this country, it applies even more to the African-American community and to the Hispanic community. And what we are going to do is make a major outreach effort to those communities.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: ABC This Week 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls

Jill Stein on Health Care : Jun 25, 2015
Single-payer public health insurance program

My Power to the People Plan will end unemployment and poverty; avert climate catastrophe; build a sustainable, just economy; and recognize the dignity and human rights of everyone in our society and our world.

Health Care as a Right: Establish an improved "Medicare For All" single-payer public health insurance program to provide everyone with quality health care, at huge savings.

Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, jill2016.com, "Plan"

Donald Trump on Jobs : Jun 16, 2015
Real unemployment rate is 20%; don't believe 5.6%

Last quarter, it was just announced our gross domestic product--a sign of strength, right? But not for us. It was below zero. Whoever heard of this? It's never below zero.

Our labor participation rate was the worst since 1978. But think of it, GDP below zero, horrible labor participation rate. Our real unemployment is anywhere from 18% to 20%. Don't believe the 5.6%. The real number is anywhere from 18% to maybe even 21%, and nobody talks about it, because it's a statistic that's full of nonsense.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: 2015 announcement speeches of 2016 presidential hopefuls

Chris Christie on Crime : Apr 28, 2015
Ban the Box: no criminal background check for job applicants

In 2014, I also signed legislation to "ban the box" and end employment discrimination against people with criminal records.10 The Opportunity to Compete Act limits employers from conducting criminal background checks on job applicants until after a first interview has taken place. This will make a huge difference to people who have paid their debts to society and want to start their lives over again. They now have the opportunity to do that in our state.
Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: Brennan Center for Justice essays, p. 22

Kamala Harris on Drugs : Apr 28, 2015
Back on Track: re-entry instead of incarceration for drugs

In 2005, as district attorney of San Francisco, I put this strategy to the test when we created "Back on Track," a comprehensive reentry initiative for first-time, nonviolent drug offenders. The initiative focused on personal responsibility by holding offenders accountable for their behavior. In exchange, participants engaged in intensive reentry, life skills training, and education and employment opportunities to reduce the alarmingly high chance that they would resume a life of crime upon their release.

Back on Track worked. The re-offense rate for participants was 10%, compared to 54% for non-participants who had committed the same types of crime. Taxpayer savings were significant. The program cost less than $5,000 per person, compared to the $43,000 it cost to house an offender in jail for one year.

We were honored that the U.S. Department of Justice designated Back on Track as a model for law enforcement.7

Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: Brennan Center for Justice essays, p. 39

Jill Stein on Budget & Economy : Jan 20, 2015
We are in state of emergency; not state of recovery

[We should] reject President Obama's framing of our situation. We have not had a recovery from the recession. One out of every two Americans is in or near poverty, including half of children in public schools. Average wages have been stagnant, and in fact decreasing.

Six million jobs have been created but even more people are still out of work--8 million--who are not counted by the unemployment figures that are designed to essentially cover up unemployment. If part-time employees and discouraged workers, etc., were counted, the unemployemnt rate would be 12% to 13%, not 5.6%.

76% of the jobs that have been created since 2009 are have been part-time or temporary jobs, that pay about half as much as full-time. They're better than no job at all, but they lock people into poverty.

95% of the economic gain went to top 1%. The 1% now have 50% of the world's wealth. We are in a state of emergency; we are not in a state of recovery.

Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: 2015 State of the Union Green Party response

Chris Christie on Jobs : Jan 13, 2015
Focus on reducing unemployment but not government employment

Since last January, the total number of people employed in New Jersey has grown by over 90,000, and the number of unemployed has dropped by nearly 30,000.
Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: State of the State address to 2015 New Jersey Legislature

Jill Stein on Education : Jul 31, 2014
Negative income tax for guaranteed basic income

We call for a universal basic income (sometimes called a guaranteed income, negative income tax, or citizen dividend). This would go to every adult regardless of health, employment, or marital status, in order to minimize government bureaucracy and intrusiveness into people's lives. The amount should be sufficient so that anyone who is unemployed can afford basic food and shelter. State or local governments should supplement that amount from local revenues where the cost of living is high.
Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: Green Party Platform adopted by National Committee Jul. 2014

Jill Stein on Government Reform : Jul 31, 2014
No religious oaths for public office, juries, or citizenship

Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: Green Party Platform adopted by National Committee Jul. 2014

Mike Pence on Jobs : Mar 14, 2014
Education is critical to our success in job creation

Our nation is experiencing the highest unemployment rate among teenagers and young adults in American history. When we look at our workforce and ways to improve it, we must begin & end with education. From pre-K to high school & beyond, a young person's learning makes the difference between graduation and a constant game of catch-up throughout their lives.

The Jobs for America's Graduates program fully understands this importance and has one of the highest impacts of improving employment of any program assessed. The very first policy goal we announced was to reprioritize career, technical and vocational education in every high school in Indiana.

My job as Governor is to help make Indiana such a great place that you wouldn't think of going any place else. So how do we do that? We start by creating good jobs and by recognizing that education is critical to our success in job creation. Strong schools help companies attract talented employees and develop the quality employees of the future.

Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: Speech at Jobs for America's Graduates event

Mike Pence on Principles & Values : Jan 26, 2014
Religious Freedom Restoration Act protects religion

Hoosiers deserve to know that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act enhances protections for every church, non-profit religious organization or society, religious school, rabbi, priest, preacher, minister or pastor in the review of government action where their religious liberty is infringed. The law also enhances protection in religious liberty cases for groups of individuals and businesses in conscience decisions that do not involve provision of goods and services, employment and housing.
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: Indianapolis Star on 2016 Indiana gubernatorial race

Marco Rubio on Jobs : Jan 12, 2014
Ok to extend unemployment if it's paid for

Q: Do you think there is any way to extend these unemployment benefits?

RUBIO: There is a general consensus that these programs need to be extended, but they need to be paid for. And in addition to that, maybe not as part of this effort right away, but in the long term we need to figure out way to reform those programs so that we get more people back to work.

Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.   Source: Face the Nation 2014 interview: 2016 presidential hopefuls

Mike Pence on Welfare & Poverty : Jul 16, 2013
Faith-based community gives us hope for new opportunities

While other states are struggling just to make ends meet, Indiana has made important investments in education and infrastructure and still ended the year with a surplus. But we still face many challenges as a state. We welcomed the recent news that the unemployment rate statewide dropped, but despite our positive trajectory, the people of Indiana feel strongly that our economy's growth is not matching the hopes, aspirations and dreams of our people. That's where some of today's honorees come in.

Where would we be without our faith-based community and the leaders who give us hope and inspire us even as we roll up our sleeves and do the work we need to build businesses and provide new opportunities and help the hurting in our communities?

Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: Speech at Indiana Black Expo Governor's Reception

Chris Christie on Jobs : Jan 8, 2013
75,000 new private sector jobs since taking office in 2010

Sandy may have stalled New Jersey's economy, but there is plenty of evidence that New Jerseyans have not let it stop our turnaround. The direction is now clear. Here is the latest economic report:Since I took this office, participation in New Jersey's labor force is higher than the nation as a whole and the number of people employed has grown. That means that more people have the confidence to be out looking for jobs, and more people actually have jobs. In total, we have added nearly 75,000 private sector jobs in New Jersey since we took office in January 2010.
Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: N.J. 2013 State of the State Address

Bernie Sanders on Jobs : Nov 8, 2012
Real unemployment is 16%; official unemployment only 9%

While "official" unemployment is at 9.8 percent, real unemployment is over 16 percent--and even higher for blue collar workers. Despite massive unemployment and the collapse of the middle class, the representatives or organized money want more tax breaks for the wealthy, more government deregulation, more unfettered free trade, more anti-union legislation and--as if this was not bad enough--they want an end of funding for unemployment benefits.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Sanders Introduction to `Playing Bigger`, by S. Acuff, p. 3

Jill Stein on Environment : Oct 31, 2012
EPA should apply science, free from polluters' influence

Jill Stein said today that the resignation of Lisa Jackson as head of the Environmental Protection Agency underscores the resistance of the Obama administration to dealing with climate change and the environment: "Pres. Obama said any action would have to take a back seat to getting the economy moving again. He just doesn't grasp that the path to full employment starts with building a clean energy future," noted Stein.

Jackson decided to leave due to her frustration over constant fights with the White House over climate change and the rejection of key environmental proposals such as regulating ozone. Obama last year decided to suspend EPA's new rules to reduce smog.

Stein added, "We need an EPA committed to protecting the environment, and to a transparent, democratic process within the agency. This is essential if the EPA is to apply science in the public interest, free from the corrupting influence of industry that has historically had too much influence over EPA scientific decisions."

Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: FireDogLake.com, "Jill Stein Arrested", by Kevin Gosztola

Joe Biden on Jobs : Oct 11, 2012
We can & will get unemployment under 6%

Q: Can you get unemployment to under 6%, and how long will it take?

BIDEN: I don't know how long it will take. We can and we will get it under 6%. Let's look at where we were when we came to office. The economy was in free fall. The Great Recession hit. Nine million people lost their job, $1.6 trillion in wealth lost in equity in your homes & in retirement accounts. We knew we had to act for the middle class. We immediately went out and rescued General Motors. Romney said, no, let Detroit go bankrupt. We moved in and helped people refinance their homes. Governor Romney said, no, let foreclosures hit the bottom. But it shouldn't be surprising for a guy who says 47% of the American people are unwilling to take responsibility for their own lives. [Rep. Ryan] recently said 30% of the American people are takers. These people are my mom and dad, the people I grew up with, my neighbors. They pay more effective tax than Governor Romney pays in his federal income tax

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: 2012 Vice Presidential debate

Nikki Haley on Budget & Economy : Apr 3, 2012
2009: Reject stimulus funds because it creates new costs

I fought against President Obama's stimulus bill, Washington's desperate attempt to boost the stagnant economy. The money promised to the states in the bill came with strings attached--long, strong strings. In the area of unemployment insurance, for example, the stimulus mandated that states change their programs to broaden eligibility--and create new costs--as a condition of receiving the money. But what would happen when the money ran out? I supported Governor Sanford in his fight for South Carolina to reject the stimulus funds because I believed the bill took our state--and our country--in exactly the wrong direction. It mandated more spending instead of less and encouraged us to avoid the difficult but necessary tasks of prioritizing the way we used tax-payers' money and reigning in government. I supported Governor Sanford in his fight for South Carolina to reject the stimulus funds because I believed the bill took our state--and our country--in exactly the wrong direction.
Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.   Source: Can't Is Not an Option, by Gov. Nikki Haley, p. 72-73

Nikki Haley on Corporations : Apr 3, 2012
OpEd: Business-friendliness starts with competitive taxes

I hammered other issues as well, first and foremost jobs. South Carolina had 12% unemployment at the time. My mantra was "We can no longer pass government-friendly legislation: we need to pass business-friendly legislation." We needed to take better care of the 95% of our economy that was small businesses. I asked voters to put themselves in the shoes of a small-business owner: What would you look for before starting a business in South Carolina? We needed to create a more business-friendly environment, and that started with a good, competitive tax structure.

As an accountant, I could see that we had one of the most complicated, cobbled-together tax systems in the county. The Department of Revenue administered 32 taxes, but only 3 of them were responsible for over 90% of the state's revenue. The rest were just adding layers of bureaucracy and killing jobs.

Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.   Source: Can't Is Not an Option, by Gov. Nikki Haley, p.126

Jill Stein on Immigration : Feb 3, 2012
Provide a legal path to citizenship for immigrant residents

Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: 2012 Presidential Campaign website jillstein.org, "Brochure"

Jill Stein on War & Peace : Feb 3, 2012
End the Oil Wars

Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: 2012 Presidential Campaign website jillstein.org, "Brochure"

Jill Stein on Jobs : Jan 29, 2012
Stimulus spent $220K per job; I propose $20K per green job

The Green New Deal is an emergency jobs creation plan that addresses unemployment & also the climate. It's a win-win on all those fronts and is modeled after the New Deal that helped us get out of the Great Depression. It would jumpstart the economy as a green economy, instead of going back to the same old economy. It goes green and also relocalizes, and it jumpstarts, in particular, small businesses and co-operatives. And in so doing, it puts a stop to escalating climate change.

We're talking about green manufacturing, sustainable local agriculture, public transportation and clean renewable energy that has the added benefit of making wars for oil obsolete. The cost for Obama's stimulus package worked out to be about $220,000 per job created, because the mechanisms were indirect and relied a lot on tax incentives, which don't always get used to create jobs. This, instead, would be money used directly to create jobs and would be more like $20,000 per job created.

Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: Interview with Steve Horn of Truthout.org

Jill Stein on Education : Jan 25, 2012
College loans trap students in financial prison of debt

Thirty million college students and recent graduates are trapped in the financial prison of student loan debt. Most students must take out costly loans to meet the skyrocketing cost of tuition. Yet paying off those loans is almost impossible as young people face double-digit unemployment and much lower pay--40% less--than their parents' generation received for the same work.
Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: Green Party 2012 People's State of the Union speech

Jill Stein on Jobs : Jan 25, 2012
Full Employment Program: green jobs and community needs

We will end unemployment in America once and for all by ensuring a job at a living wage for every American willing and able to work. This includes jobs that improve our environment, like clean manufacturing, organic agriculture, public transportation and clean renewable energy. It also includes jobs that provide urgently needed social infrastructure--for public education, health care, child care, elder care, youth programs, and arts and culture.

Our Full Employment Program will create 16 million jobs through a community-based direct employment initiative that will be nationally funded, locally controlled, and democratically protected against conflicts of interest and pay-to-play influence peddling. The program will directly create jobs in the public & the private sector. Instead of going to an unemployment office when you can't find work, you can simply go to the local employment office to find a public sector job. These 16 million jobs are 8 times the number sought in Obama's recent jobs proposal.

Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: Green Party 2012 People's State of the Union speech

Nikki Haley on Jobs : Jan 18, 2012
No unemployment benefits for workers on strike

Unions thrive in the dark. Secrecy is their greatest ally, sunlight their most potent adversary. We can and we will do more to protect South Carolina businesses by shining that light on every action the unions take.

We will require unions to tell the people of South Carolina how much money they are making on our backs, which politicians they are funding, and how much they are paying themselves. We will protect the right of every private and public citizen to refuse to join a union, and, by Executive Order, I will make it clear that our state will not subsidize striking workers by paying them unemployment benefits. And we'll make the unions understand full well that they are not needed, not wanted, and not welcome in the State of South Carolina.

Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.   Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address

Nikki Haley on Jobs : Jan 18, 2012
Pledge that every citizen who wants a job, has a job

When this Administration came into office, just over a year ago, with unemployment in double digits and growing, our focus was almost singular--jobs. The reason is fairly simple: if you give a person a job, you take care of a family. And we have a lot of families to take care of in South Carolina. The good news is we've made great progress this past year. The bad news is we still have a ways to go. But my pledge to each of you sitting before me tonight, and more importantly, to the 4.6 million South Carolinians outside of these walls, is that I will not rest until we've created a climate in which every citizen of this state who wants a job, has a job.

We have grown and expanded our South Carolina family this year, welcoming in some wonderful new partners. And after all was said and done, we were able to celebrate $5 billion of investment in South Carolina, and the recruitment of almost 20,000 new jobs in our great state.

Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.   Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address

Chris Christie on Principles & Values : Jan 17, 2012
The New Jersey Comeback: stop blaming; start building

Today, I am proud to report that the New Jersey Comeback has begun.

How do we know it has begun? Just look around you. In the last two years, we have come together to address the mess that was our budget. The decline, deficits, and departures that plagued our State just two years ago have been reversed. The budget is balanced. Our unemployment rate is no longer going up, it is coming down. Job growth has been restored--in the private sector, where we want it. New Jersey is back.

We have restrained the growth of property taxes. We have put our pensions on a more stable and sustainable footing. And in doing all this, we have restored confidence and pride in NJ.

For New Jersey, the corner has been turned. Today, the debate is not about who to blame for our failures, it is how to build on our successes. It is no longer about how to deal with devastating decline; it is now about how to push New Jersey even further ahead. To be better than we thought we could be.

Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: N.J. 2012 State of the State Address

Chris Christie on Education : Feb 17, 2011
OpEd: Portrays tenure as lifetime guarantee, but it's not

Public school teachers as well as secretaries and some custodians in NJ are granted tenure by state statute after compiling 3 consecutive years of employment. Once a teacher acquires tenure, however, only 4 basic reasons can affect whether a teacher can be fired. Those reasons, listed in state law, include inefficiency, incapacity, conduct unbecoming, or just cause.

Unfortunately, Christie has portrayed tenure as a guaranteed job for life. And the public is quick to pick up on his attacks. And in today's economic crisis, large segments of the public believe that at a time when many people are losing their jobs, teachers have it way too good.

Although Christie's education reform agenda did not spell out many specifics when it comes to tenure, he has called for replacing it with a system of 5-year renewable contracts for teachers. In other words instead of tenure, a teacher would have to have his or her contract renewed every 5 years.

Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: Teachers Under Attack!, by Mike Spina, p. 68-70

Nikki Haley on Corporations : Jan 19, 2011
Reduce red tape; time is money

As we focus on lowering our unemployment rate in South Carolina, we will hone in on ways to improve the business environment in our state. Every one of my cabinet directors understands that his or her job is to reduce the amount of red-tape placed on our businesses. In the business world, time is money--if government is costing our small businesses time, it is costing them money. That's unacceptable. The heart of our economy is and always will be our small businesses. If we give them cash flow, if we giv them profit margins, they aren't going on vacation--they will use those dollars to hire people, to invest back in our state. And it will be our people, and South Carolina's economy, that benefit. We have spoken some about moving forward with one vision. To the great credit of those in this room, in the seven short days I have been governor, we have made great progress.
Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.   Source: 2011 South Carolina State of the State Address

Bernie Sanders on Education : Dec 10, 2010
170,000 high school grads annually have no funds for college

Today, unemployment in our country--the official unemployment rate is 9.8 percent. For those without a high school diploma, it is 15.6 percent, compared to 5.6 percent for college graduates. 67 percent of high school graduates do not have enough of the skills required for success in college and the 21st century workforce.

As many as 170,000 high school graduates each year are prepared to go on to college but cannot afford that. Let me repeat that. About 170,000 young people in this country, who graduate high school, who want to go to college, are unable to do it because they cannot afford it.

Are we nuts? What are we doing in wasting the extraordinary intellectual potential of all of these young people? What we are saying to them is because you don't have the money and because college is so expensive, and because our Federal Government is more busy giving tax breaks to billionaires and fighting two wars, we are not investing in you. That makes no sense at all.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: The Speech: A Historic Filibuster, by Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders on Free Trade : Dec 10, 2010
Disastrous trade policies lead to collapse of middle class

I think one of the reasons unemployment is so high, one of the reasons the middle class is collapsing, has a lot to do with these disastrous trade policies. All this stuff emanates from corporate leaders whose sense of responsibility is such that they want themselves to become richer, they want more and more profits for their company, but they could care less about the needs of the American people.

I remember there was one CEO of a large, one of our largest American corporations, and he said: "When I look at the future of General Electric, I see China, China, China, and China." By the way, we ended up bailing out that particular corporation. He didn't look to China to get bailed out, he looked to the taxpayers of this country.

But the word has to get out to corporate America, they are going to have to start reinvesting in the United States of America. They are going to have to start building the products and the goods the American people need rather than run all over in search of cheap labor.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: The Speech: A Historic Filibuster, by Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders on Jobs : Dec 10, 2010
Extend unemployment benefits whenever jobless rate over 7.2%

We have heard from the President that this [tax agreement] is a compromise. One of the examples of compromise is an extension of unemployment benefits for 13 months.

Well, in the midst of a serious recession, at a time when millions of our fellow Americans have been out of work for a very long time, it would be, in my view, immoral & wrong to turn our backs on those workers. Their unemployment benefits are going to be running out soon. It is absolutely imperative that we extend those unemployment benefits for the 2 million workers who would lose them.

I do not believe, honestly, that the Republican support now for extending unemployment benefits constitutes much of a compromise because the truth is, for the past 40 years, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, it has been bipartisan policy that whenever the unemployment rate has been above 7.2%, unemployment insurance has always been extended. That is what we have always done. That is what we should be doing in the future.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: The Speech: A Historic Filibuster, by Bernie Sanders

Joe Biden on Jobs : Dec 4, 2010
Extending unemployment benefits is the American way

We've got to extend unemployment insurance for Americans who have lost their jobs in a tough economy. Without unemployment benefits, families can't spend on basic necessities that are grown, made, and sold by other Americans.

Denying two million Americans unemployment insurance will wind up costing us more jobs. It just isn't smart. And, cutting unemployment insurance is not only not smart, it's not right either. It would mean telling millions of our neighbors who are out of work today through no fault of their own, that they're on their own.

We all know someone who's hit a rough patch. When that happens in America, we help him get back up on his feet. That's who we are. That's the American way.

So I just don't agree with the folks who've said we can't afford a lifeline for Americans who lost their jobs during the worst recession in generations, but we can afford to extend tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. That's bad economic policy, and it's also just simply wrong.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: Weekly White House Radio address

Jill Stein on Education : Sep 29, 2010
No economic barriers to quality college education

What if there were no economic barriers to students getting a quality higher education that prepared them for life, as well as employment? Jill Stein will reverse the escalation of fees and tuition at our public institutions of higher education. We should not allow fiscal neglect to put financial barriers in the path of students of modest means who wish to obtain a college degree.

Jill Stein knows that education is the key to life-long success. A student who is only prepared to serve the short term business goals of the high tech industry is not fully prepared for long term success in life and work. The lasting value of an education often lies in developing teamwork and conflict resolution skills, understanding the lessons of nature and history, and readiness for civic leadership. Striking the right balance between true education and mere skill acquisition should be the responsibility of educators, not panels of high tech executives trying to solve their short-term business needs.

Click for Jill Stein on other issues.   Source: 2010 Gubernatorial Campaign website jillstein.org, "Issues"

Marco Rubio on Budget & Economy : Mar 28, 2010
Oppose Obama stimulus package; it's bad for America

Q: From the Obama stimulus package, by the start of 2010, Florida had received $8.2 billion in stimulus funds. Gov. Crist says that has created or saved 87,000 jobs. Mr. Rubio, why is $8 billion & 87,000 jobs bad for a state that has 12% unemployment?

RUBIO: Well, if it's bad for America, it can't possibly be good for your state. Since February, 211,000 Floridians have lost their jobs. Do you want a candidate that would have voted against the stimulus and supported something that would have cost less money and created more jobs. If that's the candidate you want, that would be me. Or do you want the someone who would have voted with the Democrats for the stimulus package? And that candidate would be Gov. Crist.

CRIST: If we had taken the speaker's approach, we would have had 87,000 more people on top of that 12% that would be unemployed in Florida today.

Q: If you had been a senator in 2009 you would have voted for the stimulus?

CRIST: Yeah, it was the right thing to do at the time.

Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.   Source: Fox News Sunday 2010 Florida primary Senate debate

Marco Rubio on Immigration : Mar 28, 2010
No amnesty in any form, not even back-of-the-line

The Republican Party, unfortunately, has been cast as the anti-illegal immigration party. It is not the anti-illegal immigration party. It is the pro-legal immigration party.

Having a legal immigration system that works begins with border security. That's not enough; about 1/3 of the folks in this country illegally enter legally & they overstay visas. So we've got to deal with that issue as well.

We've got to deal with the employment aspect of it, because the vast majority of people who enter thi country illegally do so in search of jobs, and jobs are being provided to them. So we need some level of verification system so that employers are required to verify the employment status of their folks.

As far as amnesty, that's where the governor and I disagree. He would have voted for the McCain plan. I think that plan is wrong. If you grant amnesty, in any form, whether it's back of the line or so forth, you will destroy any chance we will ever have of having a legal immigration system that works.

Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.   Source: Fox News Sunday 2010 Florida primary Senate debate

Marco Rubio on Principles & Values : Mar 28, 2010
Are Floridians better off than they were four years ago? No!

RUBIO: The governor likes to call himself a Reagan Republican. I don't ever recall Reagan being questioned about running as an independent.

CRIST: Actually, Reagan was a Democrat before he was a Republican. So if you want to talk about Reagan, let's talk about him.

RUBIO: Ronald Reagan had a great question he asked during his campaign: Are you better off today than you were four years ago? And for Floridians, there's a powerful answer to that. We have the highest unemployment record in our history We have record foreclosures. And we have a governor that supported Barack Obama's stimulus package. That doesn't sound like a Reagan record to me, and I think it makes the answer to that question very easy. Floridians are not better off than they were four years ago since you became governor. And now your promise is to take those ideas to Washington. I'm running for Senate because if I get there, I will stand up to this. We can't trust you, Governor, to stand up to Barack Obama.

Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.   Source: Fox News Sunday 2010 Florida primary Senate debate

Mike Pence on Jobs : Jan 29, 2010
$700B stimulus did not deliver promised employment

Rep. PENCE: Your administration told us that we'd have to borrow more than $700 billion to pay for a so-called stimulus bill. It was a piecemeal list of projects and boutique tax cuts, all of which--we were told--had to be passed or unemployment would go to 8%, as your administration said. Well, unemployment is 10% now.

Pres. OBAMA: You're absolutely right that when I was sworn in the hope was that unemployment would remain around 8%. What ended up happening was that the job losses from this recession proved to be much more severe than anybody anticipated. We underestimated how severe the job losses were going to be. But those job losses took place before any stimulus, whether it was the ones that you guys have proposed or the ones that we proposed, could have ever taken into effect. Now, that's just the fact, Mike, and I don't think anybody would dispute that. You could not find an economist who would dispute that.

Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: Obama Q&A at 2010 House Republican retreat in Baltimore

Chris Christie on Jobs : Nov 3, 2009
Garden State Growth Zones to attract new private investment

Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: 2009 Gubernatorial campaign website, christiefornj.com

Chris Christie on Corporations : Jul 21, 2009
Bring back "Trenton makes, the world takes"

New Jersey was once a leader in manufacturing, and as the well-known tag line goes, "Trenton makes, the world takes." Today, the industries that once made NJ no longer exist and it shows in our unemployment rate, the number of businesses that have left our state, and the lack of good-paying jobs. NJ has lost 135,100 overall jobs overall and 34,000 manufacturing jobs in the last year alone. As a result, many middle-class workers have been forced to take lower paid paying jobs without benefits.
Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: 2009 Gubernatorial campaign website, christiefornj.com

Chris Christie on Jobs : Jul 21, 2009
NJ Partnership for Action: attract quality-paying jobs

Under Jon Corzine's watch, New Jersey's unemployment rate has nearly doubled, jobs and businesses are leaving the state and families are struggling to make ends meet. Chris Christie is committed to making New Jersey competitive again by attracting quality-paying jobs, expanding new industries, and promoting New Jersey as a good place to do business.
Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: 2009 Gubernatorial campaign website, christiefornj.com

Chris Christie on Welfare & Poverty : Jul 21, 2009
Urban Fund and NJ Enterprise Zones don't work

Gov. Corzine has followed the same path as those before him and despite bold promises, hasn't made any progress or achieved any real results. Programs like the Urban Fund and New Jersey Enterprise Zones have been renewed year after year despite the absence of any clear indication that they are actually working. Meanwhile, unemployment in our urban cities is nearly 15%, only 40% of students pass the High School Placement Test, on average there are 1,700 violent crimes per year, and more than 22% people live below the poverty line.
Click for Chris Christie on other issues.   Source: 2009 Gubernatorial campaign website, christiefornj.com

Mike Huckabee on Jobs : Nov 18, 2008
3 million jobs left since 2001, but not due to trade

While we have lost over 3 million manufacturing jobs since the 2001 recession, estimates of those lost because of globalization range from 12% to 33%, so most have disappeared for other reasons. Moreover, the reemployment experience of workers who lost their manufacturing jobs because of trade is no different from those whose job loss had nothing to do with trade. Outcomes in finding new jobs at equivalent wages depended heavily on the business cycle & other factors, such as education levels. Those who are better educated do the best in finding equivalent or even better-paying jobs. Those who are older and less skilled are more likely to end up in lower-paying jobs. The unemployment rate for high school dropouts tends to be 4 times higher than that of college graduates.

One solution obviously is to prepare our children and grandchildren for the work world of the 21st century, and we must do that. As governor, I set up back-to-basics programs in math and reading that improved test scores dramatically

Click for Mike Huckabee on other issues.   Source: Do The Right Thing, by Mike Huckabee, p.131-132

Mike Huckabee on Jobs : Sep 27, 2007
Blacks still face racism & unequal opportunity in job market

Q: In 2006, the unemployment rate of Black high school graduates was 33% higher than the unemployment rate for white high school drop outs. What do you think accounts for that inequity?

A: Part of that is it is that there is still racism in this country, & the opportunities aren't the same. Some of it has to do with the fact that there are people who unfortunately still look at a person's face & their skin, and that's something that government can't change, but leadership certainly can speak to. One of the things all of us need to be aware of is that there isn't an equal opportunity for every American yet. There just isn't. We could say there is, but it's not true. And the reason answer is to make sure that there are not only educational opportunities that bring equality, employment opportunities that ensure that people have the same chances as anybody else.

Click for Mike Huckabee on other issues.   Source: 2007 GOP Presidential Forum at Morgan State University

Mike Huckabee on Social Security : Sep 1, 2007
Replace payroll tax & fund Social Security with FairTax

I'd like you to join me at the best "Going Out of Business" sale I can imagine--one held by the Internal Revenue Service. Am I running for president to shut down the federal government? Not exactly. But I am running to completely eliminate all federal income and payroll taxes. And do I mean all--personal federal, corporate federal, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, self-employment. All our hours filling out forms, all our payments for help with those forms, all our shopping bags filled with disorganized receipts, all our headaches and heartburn from tax stress will vanish. Instead we will have the FairTax, a simple tax based on wealth. When the FairTax becomes law, it will be like waving a magic wand releasing us from pain and unfairness.
Click for Mike Huckabee on other issues.   Source: 2008 Presidential campaign website mikehuckabee.com "Issues"

Joe Biden on Jobs : Aug 9, 2007
No job discrimination by sexual orientation

Q: Currently, there is no federal law protecting individuals from job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. As president, would you support and work for passage of a federal bill that would prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation an gender identity?

A: Senator Biden opposes employment discrimination of any kind--including race, religion, gender, disability or sexual orientation. He has consistently supported the Employment Non Discrimination Act to prohibit employment discrimination on basis of sexual orientation.

Q: Many gay & lesbian people serve in the federal government but do not receive the same health insurance and other employee benefits of married couples. Do you support domestic partner coverage for gay and lesbian employees of the civilian federal workforce?

A: Senator Biden believes that federal employees in legally recognized, committed relationships should not be discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate--written questionnaire

Joe Biden on Education : Jun 28, 2007
Overcome racial achievement gap with early education

Q: In 2006 the unemployment rate of black high school graduates was 33% higher than the unemployment rate for white high school dropouts. To what do you attribute this inequity?

A: One of the things that we all talk about is this achievement gap. We should remind everybody that the day before a black child, a minority child, steps into the classroom, half the achievement gap already exists. The moment they walk into that school, they are already behind.

And that gap widens. And it widens because we do not start school earlier. We do not give single mothers in disadvantaged homes the opportunities that they need in order to know what to do to prepare their children.

You've got to start off and focus on the nurturing and education of children when they're very young, particularly children from disadvantaged families. You've got to invest in starting kids in preschool at age four. And you've got to make sure you have smaller classrooms & better teachers in the disadvantaged schools.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University

Mike Huckabee on Civil Rights : Nov 1, 2002
No affirmative action for state contracts nor colleges

Q: Affirmative Action: Should race, ethnicity, or gender be taken into account in state agencies' decisions on:

Q: College and university admissions

A: No.

Q: Public employment

A: No.

Q: State contracting

A: No.

Click for Mike Huckabee on other issues.   Source: 2002 AR Gubernatorial National Political Awareness Test

Corey Stapleton on Civil Rights : Nov 1, 2000
No affirmative action in state hiring or colleges

Affirmative Action: Which of the following state agencies should take race and sex into account when making employment decisions: College and university admissions?

A: No.

Q: Public employment?

A: No.

Q: State contracting?

A: No.

Click for Corey Stapleton on other issues.   Source: 2000 Montana State National Political Awareness Test

  • Additional quotations related to Unemployment issues can be found under Jobs.
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Candidates on Jobs:


2024 Presidential primary contenders:
Gov.Doug Burgum (R-ND)
Gov.Chris Christie (R-NJ)
Gov.Ron DeSantis (R-FL)
Larry Elder (R-CA)
Rep.Will Hurd (R-FL)
Gov.Nikki Haley (R-SC)
Gov.Asa Hutchinson (R-AR)
Perry Johnson (R-IL)
Mayor Steve Laffey (R-RI)
V.P.Mike Pence (R-IN)
Rep.Dean Phillips (D-MN)
Vivek Ramaswamy (R-)
Sen.Tim Scott (R-SC)
Secy.Corey Stapleton (R-MT)
Mayor Francis Suarez (R-FL)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA) 		2024 Presidential Nominees:
Pres.Joe Biden (Democratic incumbent)
V.P.Kamala Harris (Democratic nominee)
Chase Oliver (Libertarian Party)
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (Independent)
Dr.Jill Stein (Green Party)
Pres.Donald Trump (Republican nominee)
Sen.JD Vance (Republican V.P. nominee)
Gov.Tim Walz (Democratic V.P. nominee)
Dr.Cornel West (People's Party)

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Ryan Binkley (R-TX)
Howie Hawkins (Green Party)
Joe Maldonado (Libertarian Party)
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