Rand Paul ducks question about minimum wage

[charlesg]

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/05/rand_paul_ducks_question_about.html

Rand Paul's remarkable interview this morning with George Stephanopoulos is getting lots of attention because of his criticism of President Obama for being too tough on British Petroleum.

But there's another, perhaps more telling, nugget that came at the very end: Paul was unwilling to say unequivocally that the Federal government has a proper role in setting the minimum wage. The exchange comes at the 7:45 mark of the interview:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Should the Federal government be able to set a minimum wage?
PAUL: It's not a question of whether they can or canot. I think that's decided. I think the question you have to ask is whether or not when you set the minimum wage it may cause unemployment.

Paul went on to argue that a high minimum wage risks pushing up unemployment among unskilled workers...

[Tansy_Gold]

1. They used to call unskilled workers. . . .

slaves. Guess that's the kinda libertarian Dr. Massa Rand Paul wants to be?


What a foul stinking piece of shit.



Tansy Gold

[FarCenter]

6. Many slaves were quite skilled -- often more skilled than the slaveholders

[Tansy_Gold]

7. You are absolutely correct, and I apologize

I also apologize to all of today's "unskilled" workers who, as Barbara Ehrenreich pointed out in "Nickel and Dimed" often have to develop skills on the job that some of "us" don't consider skills at all.

And sometimes the most important skills are those required for mere survival -- like not speaking up for their rights, not daring to join or advocate joining a union, like defending the bosses (Massey Energy, for example, or BP).


Rand Paul, I'm sure, has a much different view of "unskilled." Joke's on him, since he apparently is a pretty unskilled politician. :rofl:


TG

[Brickbat]

2. A dear friend of mine linked to an article about this very thing,

that even a minimum wage stifles private business. The article posited that an inner-city youth could start up a lawn-care service and charge what the market would bear (not much, because people were poor) and could pay what he could afford (not much, see above) and that would give lots of inner-city young people drive, entrepreneurship, and self-worth. Even if it were $1 an hour. There would always be people willing to work for $1 an hour, and when they got fed up with that they would have the drive to find something else, or would start their own lawn-care business.

I was laughing so hard about the idea of a lawn-care service in the inner city I never commented on my friend's link. :rofl:

[el_bryanto]

3. I'm not sure that's much of a smoking game

Both Libertarians and Conservatives believe that there shouldn't be a minimum wage.

Bryant

[Beaverhausen]

4. wow-he is becoming the gift that keeps on giving

I knew he'd blow a minimum wage question once someone asked.

[WeDidIt]

5. I *LOVE* that Rand Paul won the GOP primary in Kentucky

FINALLY, the ugly underbelly of the beast that is Libertarianism is being exposed, and people are seeing it for the vile crap philosophy it is.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

8. I sense that somebody from his campaign is trying to put a leash on the little troll.

Too little, too late.

[winstars]

9. I Have Been Working For 41 years

and I first worked in a supermarket for a $1.40 per hour. I have heard 'pug scum and their lot say EVERY FUCKING TIME since then that increasing or setting a higher minimum wage will lead to less jobs.

If left to the "MARKET" the minimum wage would still be $1.40 per hour. And we would not have seat belts on cars or definitely no airbags. Some of us might remember the old days when the local weather included not just the temps and humidity but what the smog would be like the next day. (New York, LA, etc...)

Libertarian my ass, it's just more idiots 'leading us back to the 19th century' if you ask me!!!

[customerserviceguy]

10. He's trying to be too clever

Libertarians do NOT believe in a mandated minimum wage, period.