Congressman Barney Frank discussing Minimum Wage

Congressman Barney Franks first says he doesnt pay interns because they are under no obligation and then has to admit that they are under the obligation to work at least 3 days. He hires them because he needs them, no wait, because they want to.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• jan
• helfeld
• libertarian
• barney
• frank
• minimum
• wage
• tax
• policy
• internships
• federal
• government
• prices
• business
• consumers

[egervari]

This is a weird interview because I actually find myself agreeing with Barney Frank, which is probably a first for me. I actually agreed with his statements about letting him speak - I genuinely don't think this was him evading like the other politicians. I also think his argument was sound - if people do want to volunteer their time without pay, they should be able to do that.

If the point was to show how minimum wage laws are wrong, there were better ways to go about it unfortunately.

[janhelfeld]

@egervari He lied about the conditions of his interns.

[cincyblows]

Barney Frank has no patience for idiots -especially ones who insist on badgering him. And no, I'm not a liberal.

[janhelfeld]

@cincyblows Frank contradicted himself and is therefore, mistaken.

[BurnOutXL]

People who are doing nothing wrong don't get agitated & abusive when having a simple discussion.

[RestoreReality]

@shanestuckonearth Did they put guns to kids heads and force them to work? Or did the children, sadly, HAVE to work because their families were so poor they couldn't put food on the table?

Corporations compete. That means they can't arbitrarily sell goods as whatever price they want. Most companies only make between .02 and .20 cents on every dollar sold, so they are far from price gouging their customers.

[MrJJsmithy]

They get paid in school credit..... but considering his beliefs I guess Jan is right

[shanestuckonearth]

@RestoreReality Corporations routinely paid crap wages and poisoned their customers before labor and environmental laws existed. Ever hear of child labor? Lead paint? Asbestos? Cuyahoga River? Corporations exist to make a profit for their shareholders. That means making the cheapest possible product and selling it at the highest possible price. Learn a little about the history of unregulated Capitalism in this country. Corporations are not individuals and do not have an "ethical" mandate.

[RestoreReality]

@shanestuckonearth People like him have enacted such laws and have kept them in place; so yes, he is to blame for his part.

You own four businesses, yet you worry that employers will pay people "crap wages" with min. wage laws? Or "poison their customers"? If only the government prevents you from doing these things, then you (a) don't understand the labor market and (b) are a pretty sick individual. You would poison your customers if the gov. told you you could?

[shanestuckonearth]

@RestoreReality

That had nothing to do with Barney Frank. Those are labor laws that existed way before Barney Frank was a Congressman. By the way, I own 4 businesses, I will be making money while you sleep tonight, so I think I understand Capitalism!

[RestoreReality]

My uncle was trying to work more than he was legally permitted to. The company couldn't afford to pay him more than his regular hourly, and so instead of getting any extra cash, he got none. Thanks Barney Frank.

[RestoreReality]

@shanestuckonearth You have no knowledge of Capitalism whatsoever.