Debate Nov 11^th

No, I didn’t watch the debate; I did read some of the debate transcripts available on the New York Times website. The questions were predictable and so were the responses. Kasich came off as sensible on the immigration issue. He pointed out that deporting all of the undocumented people would be nearly impossible. None of the conservatives have discussed how they would determine the country of origin for these people or how they would persuade the country to accept their return; yes, I know picky-picky! Kasich also went after Trump’s wall and Trump didn’t like that. At one point Trump reminded everyone that his companies were worth “billions and billions” and he, “didn’t have to stand here and listen to that.” But he did continue to stand there and listen to that. Someone should have advised him that he wasn’t chained to his lectern and could leave anytime he pleased.

Rubio tried to make a good point; educating people for trades pays off. He informed the audience that welders earn more that philosophers; they don’t of course, and Rubio could have determined that in four minutes on the internet. Welders make about 32 thousand dollars a year, if they can find year round employment; professors of philosophy earn about twice that much. The comparison is absurd because the Professor will have at least eight years of college and graduate school while the welder can learn his trade in considerably less time. Rubio did well until he made the mistake of using a terrible example to illustrate a valid point.

Then came the “Money Honey,” who asserted that 40 percent of the people in the country were unemployed and asked what was each candidate going to do about that. Quite apart from the hutzpah to copy write “Money Honey” Bartiromo needs to re-examine the factual bases for her questions. This 40 percent figure was debunked long ago even by conservative groups; it included children, retirees, college students and stay at home moms. (Carly Fiorina also used a similar statistic to complain about the 90 million Americans who were out of work; same problem.)

On to raising the minimum wage: the Republicans who were asked about it were against it. They claimed that has made the country less competitive. Rubio claimed that it would be a “disaster.” Trump said that he can’t be for it because “our wages are too high.” Note that his comment was not just about the minimum wage but about wages generally. (Trump had been commenting on the Trans Pacific Partnership and how we needed to start standing up to China Whereupon Senator Paul told him that China wasn’t part of the TPP; Oh Dear!) Carson who previously had favored a slight increase in the minimum wage no longer does. Once more he dredged up an early job he had in a lab that helped give him his start and served him well.

In 1943 I had a job after school as a printer’s devil. It paid 32 cents an hour. I couldn’t get time off to go rabbit hunting so I quit. I learned at an early age to avoid frustrating situations. That lesson has served me well too.