Matt Welch Criticizes Obama's Pivot to Jobs on MSNBC

Yesterday morning I appeared on MSNBC's Jansing & Co. to discuss President Barack Obama's latest pivot to jobs, income inequality, minimum wage laws, and the prospects for immigration reform:

Comments

[fish]

No! I shant be watching.

[Metazoan]

Why is income equality even desirable?

[some guy]

Because it feels good to the ignorant.

[wareagle]

because the left thinks something is gained by sticking it to rich folks. When think about it, the only way to achieve "income equality" is for those who earn more to be brought down.

[DesigNate]

They only want to stick it to rich folks who don't think exactly like they do. You know if they were to get what they wanted Obama, Pelosi, Clinton, etc. would be exempted from the taxes/gulag.

[Kaptious Kristen]

As would Soros, Buffet, and Moore.

[Zeb]

I thought those were the good rich people because they want to pay taxes.

[R C Dean]

I thought those were the good rich people because they want other people who haven't sheltered their wealth to pay taxes.

[Zeb]

I suppose that is true in reality. But I'm thinking of Buffet and others saying "tax me more".

[In Time Of War]

If they want to give more money to the government, there's absolutely nothing stopping them:

"Financial gifts can be made by check or money order payable to the United States Treasury and mailed to the address below.

Gifts to the United States
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Credit Accounting Branch
3700 East-West Highway, Room 622D
Hyattsville, MD 20782"

[Zeb]

Why is income equality even desirable?

That is a question I have often asked. I don't think there is an answer other than it makes some people feel bad and/or guilty.

[np]

$15 per hr? Pfft.. why not $150?

Also, how can you have upward mobility without income inequality?

[Marc F Cheney]

It's not "pivoting", it's twirling toward freedom.

[Metazoan]

what?

[jesse.in.mb]

twirling toward freedom!

[Metazoan]

Ah, thanks.

[jesse.in.mb]

That episode is one of the best spoofs of American politics I've seen.

[jesse.in.mb]

Another excellent clip from that episode if you haven't seen it.

Go ahead: throw your vote away!

[kinnath]

I'm so dizzy my head is spinning
Like a whirlpool it never ends

[Brian D]

Hostess: "Except that raising the minimum wage would help them pay their bills."

Only until they get laid off as employers try to keep their overhead costs the same, you moron.

[WTF]

And until the increasing cost of labor resulted in increased costs of goods and services.

[DesigNate]

I love that these fast food workers think they're worth $15/hour. There are people working office jobs (read grown-up jobs) that don't make that much.

[kinnath]

$31K a year is roughly the 40th percentile.

[kinnath]

That's roughly what my daughter is making with an associates degree in accounting.

[DesigNate]

$15/hour is what I was making fresh out of college with my BS in Architecture. Now I know that's not a STEM major, but it's a hell of a lot more technical than "Would you like to upsize that value meal?"

[R C Dean]

There are people working in office jobs who aren't worth that much, either.

[DesigNate]

True, true.

[Metazoan]

I think the left doesn't understand the fundamental purpose of hiring someone. It's not some social welfare program; you only pay someone to create wealth that you value in excess of what you pay.

[Zeb]

And they think that companies can just lower their profit margin and everything will be OK and there won't be any negative impact on consumers.

[jesse.in.mb]

I suppose it could be worse; he could've been a guest on RT.

[fish]

I like RT! The spokestesses are much hotter!

[jesse.in.mb]

Well bully for you. This is not true of their male counterparts. Also Alyona's gone 🙁

[Anonymous Coward]

Abby Martin is a leftist and a truther. And I am okay with that.

[fish]

I find Max to be very attractive....projecting a "rugged masculinity"........wait.....err....what?

Never mind.

[Thane of Whiterun]

This screencap isn't exactly flattering. She barely looks alive.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Welch didn't totally dump all over the idea of a minimum wage, and for that I lost ALL respect.

Also, Molly Whoever was useless in that clip.

[Matt Welch]

Tough crowd.

[DesigNate]

We eat our own Matt. You should know this by now.

[ant1sthenes]

Dumping on a minimum wage is no good. You've got to demand that they raise the minimum wage to $100/hr. It's the "you want to smoke? Here, smoke this whole carton of cigarettes" method of argument.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I can't wait until that backfires on you and you can't break the government's habit of outrageous federal minimum wage hikes.

[Drake]

I saw some Obama - Economy nonsense on the news yesterday. Does he realize that he's been President for 4.5 years? Somebody should tell him.

[Francisco d Anconia]

Fast food workers deserve a living wage. THAT'S funny!

Lemonade stand workers DESERVE a living wage! I DESERVE a yacht. I DESERVE a G650. I DESERVE a Lamborghini. Now give them to me.

See how that works?

[jesse.in.mb]

I propose we nationalize yacht and luxury car manufacturers so that everyone can have equally unseaworthy yachts and yacht builders can earn a living wage!

Thank you FdA, you've just given me a platform for my presidential campaign.

[The Late P Brooks]

I think the left doesn't understand the fundamental purpose of hiring someone. It's not some social welfare program; you only pay someone to create wealth that you value in excess of what you pay.

SLAVERY, that would be.

[The Late P Brooks]

This screencap isn't exactly flattering. She barely looks alive sentient.

[Zeb]

As far as I can tell, all of the striking fast food swogs are in fact alive. So they must be making a living wage.

And I get really tired of "but I can't feed my family on $7.50/hr". Maybe you should get some useful skills and try to save some money before you have kids.

[fish]

Maybe you should get some useful skills and try to save some money before you have kids.

No shit! Remember when these were the jobs you took so you could work a school schedule?

I'm working the fryer where's my mortgage application.......

[The Late P Brooks]

"How am I supposed to feed my family pay $80.-/month for my smartphone plan, and $120.-/month for premium cable service and internet on $150.-week? And I can't always get somebody else to pick up the tab for my chocotinis, you know. IT'S NOT FAIR!"

[Anonymous Coward]

Raises hand:

Unless I'm missing something, did the people starting at McDonald's not know they were going to be paid $7.50/hour? Are they unskilled at mathematics? Even at full-time you're only grossing $300 a week and $15,600 annually. I work hard, but I'm not going to break my back for $300 a week.

But please, raise the minimum wage so that progtards can pat themselves on the back as they love to do. And then black people can get laid off, as always happens when the minimum wage increases because companies are not going to shrug their shoulders and increase their payroll.

[mad libertarian guy]

Even if companies kept employees, poor people would still be fucked because all the new money introduced in to the economy would cause inflation such that even with a raise, shit will be correspondingly more expensive.

Add to that that every other employee will also want a raise, we're back where we started.

Progressives are fucking retarded.

[Ayn Random Variation]

Like I've always said, liberals don't understand the concepts of value and scarcity. You're better off talking physics with a ball of wax.

[AdamJ]

If these workers got a raise to $15/hr, half of them would be immediately replaced by computer ordering systems.

And CEO pay and fast food workers are not related, I'm sick of this argument. Two separate issues and problems. Reducing CEO pay would not lead to increased pay for workers.

[AdamJ]

Also, this study that comes out saying 4 of 5 struggle with poverty, or joblessness at some point in their life is also worthless. Is this people that go on unemployment once in their life for a few weeks? Recent college grads that can't find work? Chronic poverty and joblessness should be what the study looks at. Of course that wouldn't be as eye popping