The leading candidates for the GOP presidential nomination, arguing that they are best positioned to boost the nation’s economy, said Tuesday night that the problem is that entry-level wages are too high.
Real estate tycoon Donald Trump and neurosurgeonBen Carson used an opening question on the minimum wage to argue that high wages are a drag on job creation.
“Taxes too high. Wages too high. We’re not going to be able to compete against the world. I hate to say it, but we have to leave it the way it is,” Trump said.
Carson cited the high unemployment rate in the African-American community. “That’s because of those high wages. If you lower those wages, that comes down.”
That set the tone for a business-centric debate — sponsored by Fox Business Networkand The Wall Street Journal — that allowed the top eight Republican candidates to tout their free-market credentials, rail against regulations and trumpet their tax plans. And with the prime-time debate stage pared from 10 candidates and 90-second answers, the fourth round of GOP debates was more policy-oriented and focused than the freewheeling early rounds.
Rubio’s solution
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said raising the minimum wage would only result in more workers losing their jobs to machines. “Here’s the best way to raise wages. Make America the best place in the world to start a business or expand an existing business,” he said.
Making his case as a moderate alternative, Ohio Gov. John Kasich noted that his state had enacted a modest increase in the minimum wage. He said he could balance the budget by cutting taxes and spending, including efforts to slow Medicaid spending and a freeze on non-military spending. But he also defended safety-net spending, saying: “You know what? People need help.”
Bashing Obama
The candidates took turns bashing President Obama for what they called a slow-growth economy, saying they were in the best position to revive it by cutting taxes and government regulations.
Immigration also provided a flashpoint, with Trump saying he’d follow President Eisenhower’s strategy of deporting immigrants.
Kasich said Trump’s plan was “not an adult argument,” and former Florida governorJeb Bush said talk of deportations was only helping Democrats.
“Even having this conversation sends a powerful signal. They’re doing high-fives in the Clinton campaign when they hear this.”
(“We actually are doing high-fives right now,” tweeted Brian Fallon, Hillary Clinton’s press secretary.)
“The Democrats actually are laughing,” said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. “If Republicans join Democrats as the party of amnesty, we will lose.” He said the politics of immigration “would be very different if a bunch of lawyers and bankers were crossing the Rio Grande.”
The Santorum prescription
Offering his prescription for the economy, former senator Rick Santorum called for a more efficient tax code and elimination of Obama-era regulations that are hampering businesses. Jindal cited his economic record in Louisiana, saying his cut-the-budget approach has diversified the state’s economy.
“Let’s elect a conservative to the White House, not just any Republican,” Jindal said, again directing his comments to Christie.
“If you go to New Jersey, they’ll call me lots of different things. A liberal isn’t one of them,” Christie replied. “I’ll tell you what I want to talk about. I want to talk about what’s going to happen if we have another four years of Barack Obama’s policies. Hillary Clinton is running so far to the left to try to catch up to her socialist opponent Bernie Sanders, it’s hard to even see her anymore.”
For his part, Santorum touted his conservative record in Congress and noted that he won a Senate seat twice in the Democratic-leaning state of Pennsylvania. “Chris says we need someone who can win in a blue state. Bobby says we need a real, principled conservative,” he said, raising his arms and smiling to claim both mantles.
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