This is how bad it’s gotten: the only way liberals can clamber their way out of their echo chamber is to sarcastically stumble into a reasonable position about economic policy. Check out this tongue-in-cheek suggestion from Kurt Eichenwald, a liberal writer for Vanity Fair and Newsweek:
I don't see why we don't cut the minimum wage to zero. Slavery economies are full-employment, after all. (Message brought to u by sarcasm.)
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) April 17, 2014
Vanity Fair is owned by Condé Nast, which used unpaid interns up until last fall, when it abandoned the program. Some likened that internship program to slavery:
#Interns Aw… Condé Nast can't use slave labor to pad their bottom line.
— Afristotle (@Afristotle) October 23, 2013
Because unpaid jobs = slavery, right Kurt?
Of course, the analogy between a zero minimum wage (which allows people to work for free if they wish) and slavery (which forces people to work for free against their will) is absurd, but Eichenwald’s sarcastic suggestion that minimum wage laws should be eliminated is not. Many libertarians have advocated for this position. Heck, even the New York Times once made the argument.
@kurteichenwald hike min wage to $100/hour! Utopias love overpriced labor bc unicorns in uniforms do all labor. Message sponsored by reality
— Prudence Paine (@PruPaine) April 17, 2014
This is just so, so stupid… https://t.co/KSou7jF38L
— Peter Cook (@_Peter_Cook) April 17, 2014
https://twitter.com/RobProvince/status/456641341082984448
Brought to by Econ fail https://t.co/MiebPR3waW
— Ben Smith (@BenSmithDC) April 17, 2014
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@kurteichenwald Since raising min wage decreases the number of jobs, in effect it does lead to more people being paid zero. #derp
— ryuge (@0ryuge) April 17, 2014
@MelissaTweets @kurteichenwald I like how economics and free markets are beyond these yahoos…
— ol' Bill Deal (@chrismcm66) April 17, 2014
@kurteichenwald the capitalist system is based on mutual consent. You work for the wage you agree to work for, nothing more, nothing less
— Andrews Dad (@Andrew_Dad) April 17, 2014
Condé Nast was perfectly happy to pay its interns nothing, but how dare anyone else try to do that!
Related:
Minimum wage ‘Twitter war’: Boehner, Cantor staffers take on Jay Carney and Dan Pfeiffer
Hey, GOP ‘wimps’: Here is your minimum wage position in one sentence
CBO says minimum wage hike will cost 500K jobs; Dan Pfeiffer, WH run interference
‘Tell that to the Dems’: Stephen King hits GOP on minimum wage; Economics lesson ensues
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