I 'Absolutely' Favor Eliminating The Minimum Wage: GOP Senate Hopeful John Raese:

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GOP Senate Hopeful John Raese: I 'Absolutely' Favor Eliminating The Minimum Wage
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/12/john-raese-minimum-wage-eliminating_n_760445.html
The Huffington Post | Elyse Siegel First Posted: 10-12-10 09:53 PM | Updated: 10-12-10 09:53 PM



West Virginia Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, John Raese

Republican candidate John Raese, who is facing off against Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin for the West Virginia Senate seat long held by the late Sen. Robert Byrd, said in an interview on Tuesday that he favors eliminating the federal minimum wage.

In an appearance on ABC News' "Top Line," Raese described the decades-old measure as useless and signaled his belief that it has been ever since it was signed into law by then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a Democrat, in 1938.

"I don't think it worked then," explained the GOP hopeful. "It didn't solve any problems then and it hasn't solved any problems in 50 years."

When pressed on the matter and asked if he thinks the federal minimum wage rate -- $7.25 per hour -- should be repealed, Raese responded, "absolutely."

The Senate contender said he believes government has no place "micromanaging the economy," adding, "You don't want government to set price controls. You don't want government to set wage controls. It's an archaic system that frankly has not worked."

In an interview with CNN last week, Raese communicated a similar sentiment when he asserted that the minimum wage is "something that hurts a lot of youth employment in this country."

In the wake of those remarks, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee took aim at Raese over his stance on the issue, as well as his larger economic platform.

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