We’ve all heard our elders tell us about “the good old days,” and how much simpler life was back in the day. No doubt some of that is true. But was it good that there was a time in this country when children were forced to work and people were barely paid enough to buy food? Well, according to Fox Business host Stuart Varney, that was indeed a great thing.
On Friday, minimum wage increases–to $15 an hour–went into effect yesterday in 15 American cities, and to hear Varney and his guest Tammy Bruce tell it, it’s the end of the world as we know it. Bruce remarked:
“This we’ve learned from Seattle, and some other cities that have already implemented it, that jobs are lost. That this, it’s — the burden is put on the back of other struggling people. You will fire individuals in order to maintain that the salary requirement of the others that you have there. And others, of course, are putting — fast-food places are putting in robotics, and kiosks, so you can order your own food. This is what’s going to happen.”
That, of course, is a blatant lie, which is something both Fox News and Fox Business specialize in.
Varney then turned the debate over to John Layfield, who was in Bermuda and said what a great place it is for business because there’s no minimum wage and children work for tips. Heaven on earth! Layfield said:
“There actually isn’t a minimum wage here, right now. You see some of these young kids — I run a program for at-risk kids — down, sacking groceries, about age 12, and they work off tips. So there isn’t actually a minimum wage here.”
Yes, Bruce chimed in, “that’s how it used to be.” Which prompted Layfield to add:
“And it actually works fine. The problem I have with this $15 minimum wage is why 15, because it looks good on a bumper sticker? You’re not talking about fixing anything. Tie it to inflation, or a basket of wages, so you take it out of politics and union hands. That’s all it is.”
Ah yes, if only the United States could be a great economic power like Bermuda.
For more of this discussion, watch the video below:
