Ben Carson backs raising minimum wage

http://thehill.com ^ | May 8, 2015 | Ben Kamisar

[NKP_Vet]

Conservative presidential candidate Ben Carson says the $7.25 federal minimum wage should be raised.

“I think, probably, it should be higher than now,” Carson told CNBC’s John Harwood in an interview Friday.

Carson added that government assistance often provides more than the minimum wage in several states, allowing people to ignore the long-term benefits of a job.

[NKP_Vet]

Of course he flipped last night and of course Neil Cavuto let him get by with it. Neil's a smart man and certainly knew Carson's stance on wanting to raise the minimum wage. If Carson had been challenged on why he changed his mind he would have just said whoever said he wanted to raise it was lying. If shown the video on CNN he would have said someone had edited it. No one challenges Saint Ben. They're all liars.

[celmak]

Good man; just another policy difference I have with him.

[chris37]

Stopped reading at “Conservative”.

[Jim Robinson]

Wage controls, gun control, amnesty = big government RINO. No thanks.

[Don Hernando de Las Casas]

Almost as EEO stupid as the Kenyan.

[Travis T. OJustice]

Unelectable Ben. Unnngh.

[.45 Long Colt]

Supporting an increase in the minimum wage isn’t the same as supporting an increase of roughly 100%. Isn’t that what he was specifically asked about last night? Perhaps I don’t remember it correctly

For the record, he’s not my candidate and I oppose the minimum wage altogether, but

[Longbow1969]

Yeah, Carson has flip flopped now and again. No doubt. Still not nearly as much as Trump has. Heck Trump was a Democrat for 8 of 10 years between 2000-2010. Trump has “evolved” on so many issues it is impossible to keep track of - INCLUDING immigration. In 2012 “the Donald” said Romney was too tough on the issue of illegal immigration for simply wanting to enforce eVerify. Even as of a few months ago Trump thinks socialized medicine works great in Canada and just terrific in Scotland.

If you want a real conservative, one grounded in conservative ideology - then Ted Cruz is the guy. As a politician he’s no doubt changed his position here and there, but for the most part you can count on Cruz to be a conservative on nearly every issue. With Cruz as president you will never have to worry about liberal administrative appointments, liberal nominees, liberal regulatory schemes, etc.

[albie]

I think, probably, it should be higher than now”

...he never says anything with conviction. “I think maybe”, “I think probably”, “perhaps”...

[C210N]

Back in the day, when I watched TV, there was a Simpsons, where Marge takes over for Homer in his job at the nuke plant. At his "desk", she presses some button to see what it does, and monster flames immediately flows down the hallway, chasing a bunch of employees.

For some strange reason, Carson's offering his thoughts on conservative issues reminded me of this scene.

[FourPeas]

Carson’s explanation of why he opposes a minimum wage hike convinces me he understands (now) why it’s a bad idea. The ability to learn and change his positions doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

[Lockbox]

If we double the minimum wage, will we also double the amount of social security paid to the retire persons? With a higher minimum wage prices will increase, so we need to protect the most vulnerable members of our country.

[Paine in the Neck]

He's already backed off of that: Ben Carson Comes Out Against Raising the Minimum Wage. Another instance of Carson yapping before thinking.

[Longbow1969]

Good man; just another policy difference I have with him.

This is the way I see it too. A good man, brilliant even - but not grounded in conservative ideology. This is why he tends to answer some questions badly the first time around and has to go back and clean up what he said. He is a traditional, conservative guy - but he just hasn't thought out enough of these issues and I don't really think what we need right now is a conservative-in-training in the White House.

Saying all that, he is doing much better than I would have thought. I find his debate performances kinda dull, but for a political novice? I doubt 99% of us could sit on a debate stage like that with no experience and do as well as Carson.

Impressive man, but I'll stick with Cruz.

[nopardons]

Don't quibble over by how much a raise; any raise of the minimum raise is wrong.

[Tenacious 1]

I like Ben Carson for Surgeon General or head of HSS. But it is pretty clear he has succumbed to political pandering and is either confusing himself or unsettled on some important issues. Either way, his weakness has been exposed.

I'd like to see trump as the head of the EPA. “Your fired” fits nice in that lawless leviathan of a bureaucratic labyrinth.

[jjsheridan5]

With Cruz as president you will never have to worry about liberal administrative appointments, liberal nominees, liberal regulatory schemes, etc.

With Cruz as the nominee, however, you have to be very worried about those things, because, while he is a great thinker and debater, he has shown no ability, whatsoever, to gain traction with the vast majority of voters. Cruz' only realistic path to the white house begins with a prominent position in a Trump administration.

[Jim W N]

No, Ben, unconstitutional and economically destructive federal minimum wage needs to be REPEALED completely.

[Norm Lenhart]

Carson has one type supporting him. White guilt ‘conservatives’ willing to find any excuse to avoid principled governance or governors.

Any lib in a storm. His race makes it a twofer.

[Tenacious 1]

The ability to learn and change his positions doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

I like Carson, just not as President. But do we really want to get serious about a "conservative" that is "learning" some basic tenants and economics of conservative principles? I understood why the minimum wage was a bad thing back in highschool as I worked for $3.75/hour.