Guess Who Said 'Decline of Middle Class Tied to Decline of Unions'

February 25th, 2015 9:31 AM

Who said: "I've always believed the decline of the middle class could be tied to the decline of unions. And when you have 7%, 8% of the work force in unions, when you have CEO pay going up to record heights, you're going to have a hollowing out of the middle class." Was it a. Elizabeth Warren; b. Robert Reich; or c. Ed Schultz?

Correct answer: d. None of the above.  It was Joe Scarborough on today's Morning Joe. Scarborough prefaced his lament over the decline of unions by saying "It's been well-documented on Twitter: I'm a right-wing Republican stooge."  Translation: to my liberal critics out there, see—my heart's in the right [left] place when it comes to unions.

This is classic Scarborough, portraying himself as the intrepid truth-teller who gets unfairly battered by Cheetos-chomping lunatics on the right and the left.

JOE SCARBOROUGH:  It's been well-documented on Twitter: I'm a right-wing Republican stooge. But I read this article by Nick Kristof the other day, and I've always believed, even though there are these crazy workforce rules and some things, like the unions have been excessive Mika, I've always believed the decline of the middle class could be tied to the decline of unions. And when you have 7%, 8% of the work force in unions, when you have CEO pay going up to record heights, you're going to have a hollowing out of the middle class.

Note: This Heritage article makes the case that unions have actually hurt American workers, and companies.