Ramaswamy, in the midst of a debate on abortion, once again brought up his idea on “male sexual responsibility”.
“We talked about access to contraception, adoption. Here is the ingredient that is missing from this movement: the sexual responsibility of men,” he said. “We live in an age of 100% reliable genetic paternity testing, so we can say that men deserve more responsibility, so we can tell women, ‘We’re all in this together.'”
Ramaswamy has discussed this on the track before, but it’s not entirely clear what he means or how it would play out. He said it should be codified in law that men have greater responsibility, financial or otherwise, when it is confirmed by a paternity test that they are fathers.
“It’s not about men’s rights versus women’s rights,” Ramaswamy said on stage. “It’s about human rights.”
-Alexandra Hutzler of ABC News
“Three out of four Americans agree with a 15-week limit,” Scott said.
Survey data varies on this question. A June 2023 poll sponsored by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an anti-abortion group, and conducted by the Tarrance Group, found that 77% of respondents said abortions should be banned from conception, after six weeks or after 15 weeks.
But that poll was sponsored by a group with a position on the issue, and both questions told respondents that fetuses can feel pain at 15 weeks — a claim that lacks consensus among medical experts.
Independent polls have given mixed results on the issue of banning abortion after 15 weeks. A July 2022 survey from the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and the Harris Poll found that 23% of respondents said their state should ban abortion after 15 weeks, 12% said it should be banned after six weeks and 37% said it should be allowed. only in cases of rape and incest. Collectively, this represents 72% who support a ban at 15 weeks or less.
In two subsequent polls, support for abortion at 15 weeks or less was not as strong. A September 2022 Economist/YouGov poll found that 39% of respondents supported banning abortion after 15 weeks, and 46% opposed it. And a June 2023 Associated Press-NORC poll found that for abortion up to 15 weeks, 51% of respondents said they would allow it, while 45% said they would ban it.
-Analysis by Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact
After a commercial break, the candidates were asked what they would do to stop the flow of fentanyl into the country.
Many of them were aimed at China and what was being imported into the United States across the border. Scott has called for closing the southern border, and DeSantis has reiterated his argument for using military force against drug cartels, drawing criticism from some who say it would be untenable since the cartels are found in a foreign country that is an ally. Ramaswamy rejected the term “overdose” when it comes to fentanyl, instead calling it “closer to bioterrorism,” which warrants an aggressive response.
Christie and Haley also addressed the need for more treatment options for people struggling with addiction.
“For every family here tonight who has lost a loved one to fentanyl or any other type of opioid overdose, what you know is that all you want is a chance for them to reclaim their lives,” Christie said. “When I’m president of the United States, we’ll call it that. It’s a disease. Like heart disease, diabetes or any other disease like cancer that can be treated, needs to be treated. We not only “We We need to stop the supply, but we need to reduce demand and save lives.”
Haley said she agreed with the former New Jersey governor and that the focus should also be on mental health and addiction centers.
-Alexandra Hutzler of ABC News
“When we cut taxes in 2017, I authored the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Everyone was like, “Well, guess what? Income will fall. Well, in 2018, after writing it in 2017, what happened? Revenue grew 3%, and the next year it grew another 3%,” Scott said. “What we do know is that the Laffer curve still works. The lower the tax, the higher the revenue. »
Looking at the sheer amount of money collected, regardless of inflation and without taking into account the size of the overall economy or other factors, tax revenues increased very slightly.
Specifically, federal data shows that tax revenues increased by 0.4% between fiscal year 2017 and fiscal year 2018. (Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30.) The increase is smaller than almost any previous year since World War II, except for a few years in which tax revenues declined, largely because of recessions.
But even this increase is not really applicable because the tax year is different from the fiscal year.
And the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a group favoring reducing the federal deficit, has found that the slight increase in nominal dollars collected disappears once you add other factors. When accounting for inflation, the group found, tax revenue actually fell 1.6%.
-Analysis by Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact