Gephardt out of touch with reality?

[CADsortaGUY]

Since Gephardts appearance on Hardball was mentioned here, I went looking for the transcript. I want to address a different portion of the interview than the other poster though.

Here is the part of the transcript I wish to discuss:

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You spoke earlier about root causes. Do you think that the Democratic party has paid adequate attention to the needs of America?s poor both rural and urban?
GEPHARDT: No, I don?t. I don?t think either party has. I don?t think we as Americans have. I think we?ve got to earn the vote of minorities and the poor in this country every day. We can never assume the vote of anybody. So we need to return to programs and ideas that will lift up the poor. The proudest achievement of my time as majority leader with Bill Clinton was we passed the 1993 economic program which lifted up the poor and got wage increases, and the best thing we did was to raise the minimum wage, and when I?m president, we?re going to raise it big time. We?re going to have a living wage in this country.
MATTHEWS: What are you going to raise it to?
How much an hour minimum wage?
GEPHARDT: I?m going to have to negotiate with the Congress.
MATTHEWS: What?s it about $5.10 now.
GEPHARDT: It?s six bucks.
MATTHEWS: How high are you going to make it?
GEPHARDT: It needs to be $8, $9.
MATTHEWS: You are going to push a $9 minimum wage?
GEPHARDT: You cannot even support one person on $6 now.
MATTHEWS: The Chamber of Commerce is waiting for you. Go ahead, next.

He doesn't even know what the minimum wage is ($5.15) yet he thinks that by increasing it to $8-9/hr will magically solve problems? Talk about driving companies into the ground and/or causing outrageous inflation
linky to transcript

CkG

 

[SuperTool]

Originally posted by: CADkindaGUY
Since Gephardts appearance on Hardball was mentioned here, I went looking for the transcript. I want to address a different portion of the interview than the other poster though.

Here is the part of the transcript I wish to discuss:

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You spoke earlier about root causes. Do you think that the Democratic party has paid adequate attention to the needs of America?s poor both rural and urban?
GEPHARDT: No, I don?t. I don?t think either party has. I don?t think we as Americans have. I think we?ve got to earn the vote of minorities and the poor in this country every day. We can never assume the vote of anybody. So we need to return to programs and ideas that will lift up the poor. The proudest achievement of my time as majority leader with Bill Clinton was we passed the 1993 economic program which lifted up the poor and got wage increases, and the best thing we did was to raise the minimum wage, and when I?m president, we?re going to raise it big time. We?re going to have a living wage in this country.
MATTHEWS: What are you going to raise it to?
How much an hour minimum wage?
GEPHARDT: I?m going to have to negotiate with the Congress.
MATTHEWS: What?s it about $5.10 now.
GEPHARDT: It?s six bucks.
MATTHEWS: How high are you going to make it?
GEPHARDT: It needs to be $8, $9.
MATTHEWS: You are going to push a $9 minimum wage?
GEPHARDT: You cannot even support one person on $6 now.
MATTHEWS: The Chamber of Commerce is waiting for you. Go ahead, next.

He doesn't even know what the minimum wage is ($5.15) yet he thinks that by increasing it to $8-9/hr will magically solve problems? Talk about driving companies into the ground and/or causing outrageous inflation
linky to transcript

CkG

We know cheap labor conservatives don't like minimum wages. They want to get American workers in a race to the bottom with third world workers.

 

[tallest1]

I'm a liberal and even I see raising the min. wage to $9 as insane. If that actually went through, even McDonalds would outsource their jobs :Q

 

[Red Dawn]

Gephardt out of touch with reality?

I always thought that was a forgone conclusion. Him thinking he can win the Democratic nomination to become President only demonstrate how out of touch with reality he really is!

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: SuperTool
We know cheap labor conservatives don't like minimum wages. They want to get American workers in a race to the bottom with third world workers.

Do you really think that an $8-9 minimum wage is realistic? Would it not drive inflation up? Would it not run businesses out?

I really didn't expect any less of a reply from the likes of you though, SuperTool.. Your uninformed attempt at bashing Conservatives is quite laughable. I suggest that you look past your petty little quibbling to look at the bigger picture of what that drastic increase would cause. I'd hate to own/run a business that relied on unskilled labor if Gephardt actually got his way - I'd be out of business in a heart beat. You think that other workers wouldn't demand a raise if the unskilled minimum wage worker all of a sudden started making as much(or almost as much) as they?

CkG

 

[dmcowen674]

Now there's an idea guys. Let's do away with the Minimum Wage altogether. This way American Companies won't have any excuse to ship the jobs overseas when they can employ people right here for 25 cents an hour, save on shipping costs too. Imagine how the profits would go up then and could even knock down the trade deficit too.

 

[earthman]

This is a non-issue. While there should be a minimum wage of some kind, it has nothing to do with the prosperity of the general public, since very few people actually work for it. It just sounds good, like you are on the side of the little guy. All politicians are out of touch, even the ones who aren't millionaires.

 

[Jmman]

Sure, I say raise the minimum wage to about $10 an hour. Then you can stop by McD's and get your $9 Big Mac........

 

[burnedout]

Originally posted by: CADkindaGUY

Do you really think that an $8-9 minimum wage is realistic? Would it not drive inflation up? Would it not run businesses out?

IMO, an $8-9 minimum wage at this time would increase inflation and bankrupt a number of smaller businesses that actually employ Americans.

 

[Crimson]

Originally posted by: burnedout

Originally posted by: CADkindaGUY

Do you really think that at $8-9 minimum wage is realistic? Would it not drive inflation up? Would it not run businesses out?

IMO, an $8-9 minimum wage at this time would increase inflation and bankrupt a number of smaller businesses that actually employ Americans.

Exactly.. and if $9 is good, isn't $10 better? Why not $12? $15? $25? Where is the line.. at what point do people like dmcowen say its high enough? $30/hr? I mean why not just mandate that everyone in the country must make at least $50,000/year.. no matter what job they do.. I mean, if raising it is ALWAYS good.. why not do that?

 

[chess9]

I think raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour is a good idea, particularly if it puts McDonald's out of business. McDonad's is one of the major causes of obesity in this country. Simply "taxing" them out of existence will probably save billions in future Medicaid and Medicare costs, to say nothing of other health insurance costs. I won't cry for McDonald's!


Anyway, who can live on $6 an hour? Or, $5.15 per hour?
-Robert

 

[XMan]

Originally posted by: chess9

Anyway, who can live on $6 an hour? Or, $5.15 per hour?
-Robert

The teenage workers who consist of the majority of those who make the minimum wage?

 

[Gaard]

Originally posted by: Crimson

Originally posted by: burnedout

Originally posted by: CADkindaGUY

Do you really think that at $8-9 minimum wage is realistic? Would it not drive inflation up? Would it not run businesses out?

IMO, an $8-9 minimum wage at this time would increase inflation and bankrupt a number of smaller businesses that actually employ Americans.

Exactly.. and if $9 is good, isn't $10 better? Why not $12? $15? $25? Where is the line.. at what point do people like dmcowen say its high enough? $30/hr? I mean why not just mandate that everyone in the country must make at least $50,000/year.. no matter what job they do.. I mean, if raising it is ALWAYS good.. why not do that?

Why was the line drawn at $5.15?

 

[mastertech01]

The best way to bring up minimum wage is to have fewer workers avaliable per position. High unemployment means lots of people avaliable for the lowest wages. Low unemployment forces employers to pay more to get the best workers.

But the per hour factor has little meaning if you dont get full time hours and minimum benefits.

 

[KenGr]

Originally posted by: Gaard<br
Why was the line drawn at $5.15?

Well it really wasn't drawn there, it was left there. I think there has been a general realization among politicians, even many liberal ones, that the minimum wage isn't very important in addressing poverty. Most minimum wage jobs employ people who are not heads of households and generally are entry level or probationary positions. In most metropolitan areas, McDonalds and other fast food places pay above minimum wage just to get an adequate work force.

Raising the minimum wage to, say, $7.00 would actually not lift incomes for many people but would reduce the number of entry level positions for people entering or re-entering the work force.