Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a likely 2016 hopeful, is urging middle- and working-class voters to give Republicans a chance to guide the economy.
“The constituencies that voted for [President Obama] aren’t doing very well,” Sen. Paul said in an interview with St. Louis Public Radio. Income inequality is higher in states and cities with Democratic leadership, he explained, and “ridiculous” low interest rates held in place by the Federal Reserve in recent years have artificially boosted the stock market and hurt the ability of middle- and working-class Americans to save.
“If you are unemployed or underemployed, maybe you need to look to other people and new policies,” Sen. Paul said. “Maybe you people need to give Republicans another chance if you want to improve the lot of people who are suffering.”
The Federal Reserve is expected to increase rates sometime in the next year for the first time since 2006, but uncertainty about when and how much rates will rise has contributed to confusion and volatility in financial markets. The Dow Jones fell by 335 points Thursday — the worst single day drop of 2014.
Sen. Paul is a vocal critic of the Federal Reserve, and has pushed several times (so far unsuccessfully) to pass a bill in the Senate to audit the Fed. He pointed to the latest downturn as evidence a larger and longer “correction” to come that would be bad news for investors.
“The message really is that I’m concerned about every person who is either under employed or unemployed,” he added in the interview. “That the way we get them jobs is by enhancing capitalism. What does that mean? Smaller government and bigger market place. Lower taxes and less regulation, more trade.”
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