"[. . .] You have no disposable income when you're making ten, $12.00 bucks an hour. When we put money into the hands of working people they're gonna go out for our goods. They're gonna go out for our services. And they are gonna create jobs in doing that. That is the kind of economy I believe, put money in the hands of working people, raise the minimum wage to $15.00 an hour."
O'Malley said they had raised the minimum in Maryland while he was governor, "And -- so look, the way the -- the -- a stronger middle class is actually the source of economic growth. And if our middle class makes more money, they spend more money. And our whole economy grows. We did it. And it worked. And nobody headed for the hills or left the state because of the -- " The fact of the matter is the more our people earn the more money they spend and the more our whole economy grows."
Clinton, though, is calling for a raise to only $12. "[T]he overall message is that it doesn't result in job loss. However what Alan Krueger said in the piece you're referring to is that if we went to $15.00 there are no international comparisons. That is why I support a $12.00 national federal minimum wage. That is what the democrats in the senate have put forward as -- proposal."
For a comparison of candidates' plans on the minimum wage, inequality and other economic issues see Campaign for America's Future's Candidate Scorecard.
Health Care
Sanders called for Medicare-for-All (a.k.a. "single-payer") and linked the effort to fix the health care system to campaign finance, "... it's probably not gonna happen until you have real campaign finance reform and get rid of all these super PACs and the power of the insurance companies and the drug companies. ["] But when millions of people stand up and are prepared to take on the insurance companies and the drug companies, it will happen and I will lead that effort. Medicare for all, single-payer system is the way we should go."
Clinton criticized that, saying, "I don't think we should have to be defending [Obamacare] among Democrats. We ought to be working to improve it and prevent Republicans from both undermining it and even repealing it."
She criticized Sanders' proposal for Medicare-for-All, saying, "I've looked at the legislation that Senator Sanders has proposed. And basically, he does eliminate the Affordable Care Act, eliminate private insurance, eliminates Medicare, eliminates Medicaid, Tricare, children's health insurance program. ... I think as Democrats, we ought to proudly support the Affordable Care Act, improve it, and make it the model that we know it can be."
Sanders responded, "We don't eliminate Medicare. We expand Medicare to all people."
O'Malley tried to say something as well, but, Moderator: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry governor. We've got to take a break or the machine breaks down."
For a comparison of candidates' plans on fixing the health care system see Campaign for America's Future's Candidate Scorecard.
Criminal Justice/Black Lives Matter
O'Malley: "I think the call of your question is how can we improve both public safety in America and race relations in America understanding how very intertwined both of those issues are in a very, very difficult and painful way for us as a people. Look, the truth of the matter is that we should all feel a sense of responsibility as Americans to look for the things that actually work to save and redeem lives and to do more of them."
Sanders: "According to the statistics that I'm familiar with, a black male maybe born today stands a one in four chance of ending up in the criminal justice system. Fifty-one percent of high school African American graduates are unemployed or underemployed. We have more people in jail today than any other country on earth.
"We're spending $80 billion locking people up disproportionately, Latino and African American. We need very clearly major, major reform in a broken criminal justice system from top to bottom. And that means when police officers out in a community do illegal activity, kill people who are unarmed, who should not be killed, they must be held accountable. It means that we end minimum sentencing " And it means that we take marijuana out of the federal law as a crime and give space for freedom to go forward with legalizing marijuana."
Clinton: "I recently met with a group of mothers who lost their children to -- either -- killings by police or random killings -- in their neighborhoods.
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