Posted on 10/06/2010 8:26:59 PM PDT by MamaDearest
Republic National Committee chairman Michael Steele doesn't know what the minimum wage is, and he doesn't think it's "relevant."
During an appearance on "The Last Word" Tuesday night, during a segment about tension the Tea Party has caused within the GOP, Steele was asked point-blank by host Lawrence O'Donnell to name the minimum wage.
He responded by laughing.
"It's ok to say you don't know," O'Donnell said, as Steele launched into a rambling response.
"I know what the minimum - look, look, I know...stop the trap playing here...the reality is, that is not the most paramount issue that voters out there are facing," Steele said.
"What are we going to do to stimulate job growth? What are we going to do that empowers small business owners?" he continued. "Whether the minimum wage is seven dollars, ten dollars or whatever it happens to be in whatever part of the country you live in, the fact is, if you don't have a job, that number's irrelevant, until you get one."
O'Donnell quickly called Steele out on skirting the question, saying, "Well the minimum wage is not seven dollars or ten dollars, but let's move on to jobs."
"That'll be your headline," Steele quipped. "Steele Doesn't Know the Minimum Wage."
The federal minimum wage is $7.25.
Democrats fired back immediately, arguing that Republicans are trying to unravel key pieces of the social infrastructure such as the minimum wage.
"Michael Steele may not 'do' policy or care to know the amount of the minimum wage that 3.6 million Americans earn, but the fact of the matter is that the candidates he's working so hard to elect WILL make policy," DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said, as reported by the Mouth of the Potomac blog.
This isn't the first time Steele's comments have left him looking out of touch.
In February, during a debate with then-Senate candidate Democrat Harold Ford Jr., Steele said, "after taxes, a million dollars is not a lot of money."
SO WHAT? I give Steele a pass on this
SO WHAT? I give Steele a pass on this
And Barack Obama has never known what having to work for a living is all about.
And Barack Obama has never known what having to work for a living is all about.
And Barack Obama has never known what having to work for a living is all about.
I didn’t know, but I am still against it.
Changes to the minimum wage affects only very low income earners. Every time some enterprising rat wants to raise it, he/she is forcing more low income earners out of the market. Talk about the road to hell being paved with ‘good’ intentions.
Minimum wage doesn’t matter to the unemployed.
Why is it relevent? A higher Minimal Wage is directly proportional to a higher Cost of Living. That formula is far more important than whether minimal wage is $7.25 or $6.50. Most people who don’t make minimal wage probably don’t know what it is. . . .
Hell, I don’t know what the minimum wage is either.
The federal minimum wage is the same in all 57 states.
I don’t know what the minimum wage is and I was unemployed until recently. The demonrats would make this into a big deal and probably score some points with the ignorant/illiterate crowd but I don’t think we need to let this bother us. I don’t know how to spell potatoe either and it hasn’t hurt me yet.
/s
Ah, hello, McFly.....there are roughly 15 million unemployed (not making minimum wage even) that's what Steele is concerned about.
And I don't even like the guy...
Just another BS article by the NY Daily News.
If Steele was any good, he would have told Larry, “What does your salary have to do with this discussion?”
Steele is not sharp on his feet in answering questions that set him up for failure.
Give ‘em a little more time...
$7.25 in all 57 states?
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