Fox News Undercard Republican Debate: Live Coverage

At the top of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ list of high-growth occupations: personal care aides. They make an average of only $20,440 per year. That speaks to two things: 1) the aging of America and the growing need for caregivers and 2) the low general compensation for caregiving, which has become the focus of analysts and organizers like MacArthur “genius” award winner Ai-jen Poo. What we’ve seen thus far in the debate includes many moderator questions framing the issue of jobs in the context of related issues, like taxation. We have not heard any candidates talk about the rising cadre of lower-earning workers in societally important fields like caregiving and how their fortunes will be affected by the policies in question.

I don’t want to be snarky, but sometimes I wonder why some people think it’s a good idea to run for president. With the exception of Huckabee, all the candidates on this stage were blown out in their last run for statewide office. Santorum lost his 2006 race for Senate in Pennsylvania by 17 percentage points. Gilmore lost his 2008 race for Senate in Virginia by 31 percentage points. Fiorina lost her 2010 race for Senate in California by 10 percentage points.

A reminder: Governors don’t have much control over their states’ economic records.