From opposing an increase to the $7.25 minimum wage to opposing a federal minimum wage altogether, every single GOP candidate on stage tonight takes the most extreme, out-of-touch position when it comes to standing up for working families. The Republican field has demonstrated time and time again that they’ll side with shadowy special interests and the billionaire Koch brothers over hardworking families — their opposition to an increase in the minimum wage is no exception.
Here’s what the GOP presidential candidates had to say to hardworking South Carolina families tonight:
- Ted Cruz has twice voted against raising the minimum wage. Inexplicably, Cruz has gone so far as to claim that increasing the minimum wage would actually be detrimental to workers, saying, “I think [a wage hike] hurts the most vulnerable.”
- Marco Rubio’s admitted that “you can’t live on $11 an hour,” but that didn’t stop him from opposing raising it to $9 an hour and voting against increasing it to $10.10. Don’t hold your breath for Rubio to take a stand in favor of raising it, because he still doesn’t think it should be increased.
- Jeb Bush opposed raising the minimum wage back when he was governor of Florida and he continues to oppose any increases today. Jeb wants American workers to go ahead and just “work longer hours” instead.
- John Kasich wants to make sure “we don’t raise the minimum wage willy-nilly.”Maybe that’s why he wants to make it a state-level issue?
Published: Feb 13, 2016