9:39 PM: “We’re going to have to redo how the pharmaceutical industry does business.” That’s Hillary. And that just sent chills down a lot of corporate spines. This is an issue that’s roiling the Democratic field and it’s even getting tractions in the GOP debates.
9:43 PM: I certainly do not expect to ever see the 90% income tax rates that were in effect in the 1950s, though the effective rate was much lower. But it showed a real element of unprofessionalism and deep bias that the moderators themselves (if I saw this right) actually broke into laughter when he said that. That was a real fail and a revealing one. Smug.
9:55 PM: The debate about the minimum wage usually get carried on by moderators who simply aren’t aware of studies of the effects of the minimum wage in recent decades – particularly one covering the border between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The empirical data shows that incremental increases to the minimum wage do not cause job losses. The actual empirical data shows this … However, I think it’s fair to say that many of the same economists who argue convincingly that incremental increases in the minimum wage do not cause job losses also say that a jump to $15 from the current amount (more than doubling it) goes dramatically beyond what we have empirical data for. In other words, going immediately to $15 could cause job losses. We don’t know.
10:08 PM: Pretty intense exchange here on the financial services industry and the banks … I must say, between Bernie and Hillary, you’ve really got the basic wings of the party going at it. I’m not sure if it’s fair or not. But O’Malley feels like an opportunist to me on this issue.
10:11 PM: I must say John Dickerson really does seem to have it in for Hillary. Even on gun control, where Sanders is out of step with most Democratic voters, he turns them into cuts against Hillary.
10:14 PM: Yeah, the more I hear from Martin O’Malley the less I like him.
10:15 PM: Yep, I did kind of think Hillary was tying Wall Street connections and fundraising to rebuilding downtown New York after 9/11. And it was kind of weird.
10:17 PM: Might make sense for one of these candidates to explain what Glass–Steagall is or did – basically preventing firms from being involved in commercial and investment banking.
