There was a debate this afternoon on Twitter involving Jay Carney and Dan Pfeiffer pushing the White House line on the minimum wage against Rory Cooper and Brendan Buck, staffers for Reps. Eric Cantor and John Boehner, respectively.
The Republican side suggests Obama and the Dems only want to raise the minimum wage to cover for the negative economic effects on work hours caused by Obamacare. Lying liar Jay Carney of course disagrees, with a little help from Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer:
.@PressSec, you said we were cherry-picking survey data on Min Wage. There are 4 surveys in this one article: http://t.co/1fHvnlMNJV
— Rory Cooper (@rorycooper) March 19, 2014
.@rorycooper What does Rep. Cantor think the min wage should be? $5.15, as in 2007 when he voted NO to raising it? Lower? Zero?
— J Earnest (Archived) (@PressSec44) March 19, 2014
.@PressSec Thanks for conceding on the surveys. We'd like to restore 40 hr work week that Obamacare cuts by 25% (coincidentally your MW ask)
— Rory Cooper (@rorycooper) March 19, 2014
.@rorycooper It's a simple question: What does the Majority Leader believe the minimum wage should be? If he wants to abolish it, say so.
— J Earnest (Archived) (@PressSec44) March 19, 2014
.@PressSec Simple answer. He wants to abolish Obamacare rule causing problem you're trying to hide. Do you think hours should be cut 25%?
— Rory Cooper (@rorycooper) March 19, 2014
.@rorycooper I get he wants to repeal ACA. Thanks for sharing. But why refuse to say what his position is on the minimum wage?
— J Earnest (Archived) (@PressSec44) March 19, 2014
.@PressSec Removing your wage-depressing rule restores hours AND paychecks by up to 25%. I hope you agree the law does that, and that's bad.
— Rory Cooper (@rorycooper) March 19, 2014
.@PressSec Do you concede 38% of min-wage owners would lay off employers, 54% stop hiring? CBO numbers? How many jobs lost is too many?
— Rory Cooper (@rorycooper) March 19, 2014
.@rorycooper I seem to have stumbled across a mystery. Does Rep. Cantor (aka @GOPLeader) believe there should be a minimum wage, or not?
— J Earnest (Archived) (@PressSec44) March 19, 2014
Last year you proposed $9/hr. This year $10.10 (~25%) precisely what Obamacare reduces hourly wages by. Coincidence @PressSec?
— Rory Cooper (@rorycooper) March 19, 2014
Brendan Buck, Boehner’s press secretary, responded to the same question from Carney:
The Cantor min wage mystery makes me wonder: Hey @BrendanBuck, does Speaker Boehner believe there should be a minimum wage?
— J Earnest (Archived) (@PressSec44) March 19, 2014
@PressSec he thinks it should stay where it is cuz increasing it would, ya know, destroy lots and lots of jobs http://t.co/DTbcOpp3kh
— Brendan Buck (@BrendanBuck) March 19, 2014
@BrendanBuck @PressSec serious q is there a level of the minimum wage that the speaker supportsor does he think the concept doesnt work
— J. Goldman -Archived (@Goldman44) March 19, 2014
@pfeiffer44 @PressSec I'm not sure but I know he'd be pretty skeptical that you, I, or the govt knows what the right wage is.
— Brendan Buck (@BrendanBuck) March 19, 2014
Here’s a good question:
@pfeiffer44 @PressSec which leads me to my question: if you really believe there aren't any costs to raising the wage, why not a $20 one?
— Brendan Buck (@BrendanBuck) March 19, 2014
Buck is still trying to get a satisfactory answer to that one:
@pfeiffer44 @PressSec fairly confident his answer will be leave it where it is. You have still pondering my question?
— Brendan Buck (@BrendanBuck) March 19, 2014
@pfeiffer44 @PressSec you didn't answer why not $20.
— Brendan Buck (@BrendanBuck) March 19, 2014
@pfeiffer44 @PressSec oh geeze. Fellas, I've told you where the speaker is – why won't you explain your problem with a $20 min wage?
— Brendan Buck (@BrendanBuck) March 19, 2014
While they’re thinking about that, here’s something else to ponder:
.@BrendanBuck Another q for you WH hacks: What biz experience do you have to pontificate on the correct min wage? @pfeiffer44 @PressSec
— Jason Mattera (@JasonMattera) March 19, 2014
Snap!
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