Paul hits Obama on Minimum Wage (Politico Article)

[Okaloosa]

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/rand-paul-barack-obama-minimum-wage-109137.html#ixzz382ytrppg

The Facebook comments are looking very anti Rand on this issue. https://www.facebook.com/politico

SAN FRANCISCO – Sen. Rand Paul mocked President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on Saturday over the reasons they recently gave for wanting their daughters to work minimum wage jobs.
Speaking at a downtown conference for libertarian and conservative technology types, the Kentucky Republican and prospective 2016 White House contender said he had an “opposite” view from the Obamas when it comes to seeing his own sons work delivering pizzas and at call centers.


Paul hits Obamas on minimum wage
“The minimum wage is a temporary” thing, Paul said. “It’s a chance to get started. I see my son come home with his tips. And he’s got cash in his hand and he’s proud of himself. I don’t want him to stop there. But he’s working and he’s understanding the value of work. We shouldn’t disparage that.”
(Also on POLITICO: The Rand Paul pile on)
Paul was swinging at the Obamas over an answer they gave in a joint interview last month to Parade magazine when asked if they’d like to see their daughters follow in their footsteps in working minimum wage jobs.
“Oh, yeah. I think every kid needs to get a taste of what it’s like to do that real hard work,” Michelle Obama answered.
“We are looking for opportunities for them to feel as if going to work and getting a paycheck is not always fun, not always stimulating, not always fair. But that’s what most folks go through every single day,” President Obama added.
“That’s what life is,” Michelle Obama added.
Paul’s remarks about minimum wage come at the end of his three-day trip to San Francisco — he attended a fundraiser Friday for his Senate reelection and political action campaign at a steakhouse overlooking the Bay Bridge and has participated in several round tables and private meetings with technology experts.
Paul is looking to raise money from libertarian-minded tech executives and perhaps recruit talent for a future campaign, something he acknowledged is an uphill climate in such a Democratically-dominated region.
“I come out here and people say we loved President Obama. We’re all for President Obama. We’re from the tech community,” Paul told several hundred attendees at the Lincoln Labs conference. “Why? Why would you be? He’s not for innovation. He’s not for freedom. He’s for the protectionism crowd. He’s for the crowd that would limit the activities of these companies.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/rand-paul-barack-obama-minimum-wage-109137.html#ixzz382ytrppg

 

[ronaldo23]

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/rand-paul-barack-obama-minimum-wage-109137.html#ixzz382ytrppg

The Facebook comments are looking very anti Rand on this issue. https://www.facebook.com/politico




Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/rand-paul-barack-obama-minimum-wage-109137.html#ixzz382ytrppg

yeah, this was sorta a weird response by rand. I'm not sure what he was disagreeing with Obama on with his statement- seems the analogy on both ends was saying the same thing, that the value of a minimum wage job is the hard work and experience it provides for a teenager.

 

[anaconda]

yeah, this was sorta a weird response by rand. I'm not sure what he was disagreeing with Obama on with his statement- seems the analogy on both ends was saying the same thing, that the value of a minimum wage job is the hard work and experience it provides for a teenager.

Exactly correct. If there was some key difference (even "mockery") the article completely failed to mention it. Terrible article. Maybe the person was high and the editor didn't proof it.

 

[YesI'mALiberal]

Exactly correct. If there was some key difference (even "mockery") the article completely failed to mention it. Terrible article. Maybe the person was high and the editor didn't proof it.

Indeed. This is the most "WTF?" article I've seen in a while.

 

[FriedChicken]

If this was the only thing Rand said on this topic than I don't think he was even thinking of the president's remarks when he said them. This being directed at the Obamas if a fabrication of the author if the quoted remarks therein are the only evidence the author has.

 

[anaconda]

If this was the only thing Rand said on this topic than I don't think he was even thinking of the president's remarks when he said them. This being directed at the Obamas if a fabrication of the author if the quoted remarks therein are the only evidence the author has.

It seems to have become cannon fodder for his political opponents:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/20/rand-paul-minimum-wage_n_5603504.html

 

[Vanguard101]

I thought this was stupid of him tbh.

 

[FriedChicken]

Both articles I've read are lacking on context.
I wonder if Paul's team plans on defending him on this or picking other battles? Both articles quote that Paul has the "opposite" view ... with opposite being the only word in quotes and no clue what the rest of the sentence was.

I could be wrong - Someone might have asked him what he thought and he might have said "well I have an opposite view" (but then why not quote the entire sentence?) but then stupidly explained a very similar, far from opposite, statement the president said.

OR Rand might be referring to the presidents ideology and not directly to his statement. Obama believes you should be able to work 30 or so hours a week at the federal minimum and be able to provide comfortably for a family - Rand thinks of it as a place to start out and temporary thing.

 

[juleswin]

Maybe I am too much of a fan boy, but I see nothing wrong with what he said. I do not expect my children to feed a family on minimum wage and if they are unfortunate enough to find themselves in a position of working minimum wage job, I would want them to get something better not get comfortable doing it.

 

[Crashland]

Maybe I am too much of a fan boy, but I see nothing wrong with what he said. I do not expect my children to feed a family on minimum wage and if they are unfortunate enough to find themselves in a position of working minimum wage job, I would want them to get something better not get comfortable doing it.

The question is though, how easy is it exactly to rise above minimum wage? Libertarians and Republicans tend to speak as if it's not that big a deal if you have a work ethic, which could be insulting to people who might have a circumstance where the amount of effort they would need to put in order to do that might be far higher than it is for other people in better circumstances. Considering just how many people are currently on minimum wage its probably not a good idea to imply that they are only on minimum wage because they became comfortable with it.

 

[angelatc]

“We are looking for opportunities for them to feel as if going to work and getting a paycheck is not always fun, not always stimulating, not always fair. But that’s what most folks go through every single day,” President Obama added.

I think the difference is that the Obama's want it all to be fair. They want the CEO who is responsible for 14 million jobs on 6 continents to get paid the same as the pregnant 17 year old line cook at McDonald's.

The Paul family wants to teach their children that unless you want to be a line cook forever, you need to make yourself valuable. The Obama family wants people to teach their children that they're more valuable than they really are.

 

[angelatc]

The question is though, how easy is it exactly to rise above minimum wage? Libertarians and Republicans tend to speak as if it's not that big a deal if you have a work ethic, which could be insulting to people who might have a circumstance where the amount of effort they would need to put in order to do that might be far higher than it is for other people in better circumstances. Considering just how many people are currently on minimum wage its probably not a good idea to imply that they are only on minimum wage because they became comfortable with it.

Blah balah blah. If you aren't making enough money, then do something to earn more. Stop whining that it is someone else's fault.

 

[jct74]

UPDATE: Brian Darling, Paul’s senior communications director, contests the characterization of Paul’s remarks found in Politico, the Huffington Post and the post below. “It is not accurate to says that Sen. Paul’s criticized the president and first lady for wanting their daughters to work minimum wage jobs,” Darling said in an email. “Sen. Paul argued that kids should be celebrated for making their own money and not taught that minimum wage jobs are bad.”

http://www.salon.com/2014/07/21/ran...hters_to_empathize_with_minimum_wage_workers/