Quotes

The Cry Wolf Quote Bank chronicles the false predictions and hyperbole by opponents of these laws and protections.  While the issues and specific policies change over time, the rhetoric and themes remained the same.  You can search the Quote Bank for what opponents said to prevent these laws from passing. Using the drop down menus on the right their statements by issue, by specific law, by who said it and by the core themes they evoke.   Elsewhere on the site, you can find articles, studies, and other material that debunks their claims. 

E.g., 2024-07-01
E.g., 2024-07-01

If it becomes law, it will be the biggest financial burden for small businesses in decades, coming at a time when the state's economy is the most precarious it has been in a quarter of a century and when Main Street firms are least able to afford it.

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Julianne Broyles, spokeswoman for California Chamber of Commerce. The Tri-Valley Herald.
07/29/2002 | Full Details

If the CEO of a $50-billion corporation operating in 112 countries is required to sign a document saying he guarantees under penalty of law that all these numbers are correct, there's not a CEO in America that will sign it.

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Thomas Donohue, President of the Chamber of Commerce
07/28/2002 | Full Details

You've got new taxes and new costs on employers and employees at a time when the economy is not doing well.

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Julianne Broyles, spokeswoman for California Chamber of Commerce. The Tri-Valley Herald.
06/11/2002 | Full Details

I hope this is a lesson for the next Republican governor or next Republican president before they sign this kind of bill. Once Democrats control everything they are going to start raising taxes and raising benefits to pay for these screwball ideas….A tax on a job eliminates jobs; this is a tax on a job.

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Republican State Senator Ray Haynes. The Tri-Valley Herald.
06/11/2002 | Full Details

It's seems like it's not good timing -- that we could be chasing business out of California. We definitely support employees and family issues and want to make sure we create a good working environment. However, putting California businesses at a competitive disadvantage compared to other states only means that business will go elsewhere.

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Todd Willis, public policy director of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. The Tri-Valley Herald
06/11/2002 | Full Details

We don’t think the government ought to be in the business of setting wages.

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Chamber of Commerce spokesman Randy Johnson, Washington Times.
05/06/2002 | Full Details

As if New York's economy wasn't already stressed enough, there's a renewed push in the City Council for a local ‘living wage’ law that could hinder the city's economic renewal while reducing job opportunities for the very people it is supposed to help.

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McMahon, E.J. New York Post.
03/20/2002 | Full Details

Reject the phony Patients' Bill of Rights….We don't have to continue down the path of socialized medical care, especially in America where free markets have provided so much for so many.

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Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)
08/02/2001 | Full Details

Without question, the true goal of some in Congress is to create a system of socialized medicine. It's politically expedient to slap a 'patients' rights' label on legislation that simply leads us closer to a complete government takeover of medicine.

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Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) Health Care News.
08/01/2001 | Full Details

We’re certainly not, and I don’t think congress should be, in the business of mandating consumer choice. If you do the math on it, the consumer will never pay for it. We obviously don’t think the CAFE standards are very well thought out.

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GM CEO and President Richard Wagoner, meeting with Washington Times editors and reporters.
07/31/2001 | Full Details

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