Joe Miller: 'There should not be' a federal minimum wage

By Matt DeLong

In an interview with ABC News and Politico, tea party-backed Alaska GOP Senate candidate Joe Miller stood by some of his most controversial positions and added a new one to the list -- he opposes the federal minimum wage that has existed in the United States since 1938.

"That is clearly up to the states," Miller said. "The state of Alaska has a minimum wage which is higher than the federal level because our state leaders have made that determination. The minimum level again should be the state's decision."

So there should not be a federal minimum wage?

"There should not be," Miller answered. "That is not within the scope of the powers that are given to the federal government."

Miller also defended his opposition to federal unemployment insurance.

"It still makes far more sense to have those kinds of decisions made at the level closest to the people, where there is more accountability, less inefficiency, where there is more understanding of where the people ought to be and what the state role of government is," Miller said. "If you like big government, move to Massachusetts."

Recent polling shows Miller is in a tight race with Sen. Lisa Murkowski -- whom he upset in the GOP primary and is now mounting a write-in bid -- and Democrat Scott McAdams. McAdams announced Saturday that he has raised $650,000 since the Aug. 24 primary, while Miller has taken in $450,000 online since Murkowski announced her write-in candidacy in September. In the new ABC/Politico interview, Miller confirmed that he plans to move his family to Washington if he wins.

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