While in Greenville, South Carolina, Mike Huckabee addressed the economy and the unemployment rate.
“I want to visit with you because our country today heard some very bad news,” Mike Huckabee said in front of a crowd of at least 250 people attending. Huckabee’s speech addressed the unemployment rate of the country along with President George W. Bush’s stimulus plan.
Huckabee followed up with: “Today the unemployment rate in this country has risen now to 6 percent…It is one of the highest unemployment numbers we’ve had in a a while. Clearly there are things in this country that are on the wrong track.”
In his speech, Huckabee pointed out that at the GOP debate in Dearborn, Michigan, he was the only candidate that said that the economy of the middle class was difficult, regardless if the macroeconomy had looked good.
Huckabee said that many are talking about the economy. He would say: “My point is that they should have been talking about it months ago. They would’ve been talking about it months ago if they listened to more people and not just a handful of people at the top.”
He would say that many people are at the point where their lives of challenged by significant changes. Huckabee used gasoline and fuel prices as an example such as how the prices affects everything you buy at the store.
In response to Bush’s newly unveiled stimulus plan, Huckabee agreed with it. Mike Huckabee said that the stimulus plan set by George W. Bush was on the right track. He had agreed with Bush that tax cuts needed to be permanent.
“People need to know those tax cuts are not going to be immeasurably changed,” Huckabee said. He was explaining that a clear indication on the tax cuts was needed.
He then added: “I think ultimately, you need to be… looking at enforcing our trade agreements—far more so on both sides of the border, we haven’t done that. We have trading partners who cheat, the result is we lose jobs. People lose jobs, they don’t have any money to spend. They don’t have money to spend, they don’t buy homes, cars, next thing you know we’re in a recession. So if we’re really serious about it, it has to start with jobs. That’s where we really need to be focused.”
In the speech, Huckabee took the chance to call out one of his competitors.
Huckabee would finish off with: “I hate push polling. I wish it didn’t happen. It certainly isn’t happening with our permission, blessing or encouragement.”