CNN's Blitzer, Cafferty Regret Minimum Wage Hike Not Retroactive


On Monday's The Situation Room, CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Jack Cafferty expressed frustration that the Democratic Congress has not yet passed a minimum wage increase, even lamenting that the increase could not be made retroactive.

After Blitzer seemed to seriously ask if the minimum wage increase could be made retroactive to November, Cafferty rhetorically exclaimed that it should be "retroactive to ten years ago."

Blitzer: "I guess they can't make the increase in the minimum wage retroactive to back November, huh, Jack?"

Cafferty: "They ought to make it retroactive to ten years ago. That's the last time anybody addressed these folks."

Blitzer: "Don't hold your breath on that one." (Transcript follows)

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Cafferty began his regular "Cafferty File" segment registering his disapproval that Democrats in Congress have still not completed their promise to pass a minimum wage increase. Cafferty: "Remember all the noise about how the Democrats were gonna raise the minimum wage, which has not been increased in more than ten years? Well, don't hold your breath." Complaining that each house had passed a different version of a minimum wage increase that will have to be reconciled later, Cafferty lamented that there's "no indication that's going to happen anytime soon."

Then, one week after he called Alberto Gonzales a "glorified waterboy" and a "weasel," Cafferty downplayed the importance of going after him and other administration officials if it stands in the way of a timely minimum wage increase, as he mockingly referred to the Democrats "having great fun flexing their newfound political muscle at the expense of folks like Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, White House aide Karl Rove and Harriet 'I could have been a Supreme' Miers."

After Cafferty asked viewers to email him with their answers to his question about which matter was more important for Democrats to focus on, Blitzer seemed to seriously wonder about the feasability of a minimum wage increase being made retroactive, which would logically require employers to provide back pay going back to November, as the CNN anchor asked: "I guess they can't make the increase in the minimum wage retroactive to back November, huh, Jack?" Cafferty: "They ought to make it retroactive to ten years ago. That's the last time anybody addressed these folks." Blitzer: "Don't hold your breath on that one."

Below is a complete transcript of the segment from the Monday March 19 The Situation Room on CNN:

Wolf Blitzer: "Let's check in with Jack Cafferty. He's got the 'Cafferty File' for another week. Jack?"

Jack Cafferty: "Indeed I do. Good morning, Wolf, or good afternoon. It's the American way, isn't it? You promise the voters anything in order to get elected, and then, once you're in office, hey, forget about it, do whatever you want. Remember all the noise about how the Democrats were gonna raise the minimum wage, which has not been increased in more than ten years? Well, don't hold your breath. The House and Senate both voted to raise the minimum wage, but the versions of the bill that each passed is different. And before workers see any more take-home pay, a House-Senate conference committee has to reconcile the two versions of the bill. No indication that's going to happen anytime soon. Meanwhile, the Democrats are having great fun flexing their newfound political muscle at the expense of folks like Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, White House aide Karl Rove and Harriet 'I could have been a Supreme' Miers. Talk of subpoenas and hearings fill the air in Washington these days. But what about all that stuff you said you were gonna do about solving the nation's problems? Here's our question, then. What should be the top priority for the Democrats: investigating the Bush administration or solving domestic problems?"

After Cafferty gave viewers his email address, he returned the discussion to Blitzer.

Blitzer: "I guess they can't make the increase in the minimum wage retroactive to back November, huh, Jack?"

Cafferty: "They ought to make it retroactive to ten years ago. That's the last time anybody addressed these folks."

Blitzer: "Don't hold your breath on that one."

Cafferty: "No, no."


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Sometimes you just have to la

Sometimes you just have to laugh at these idiots! 

Sure, make the minimum wage increase retroactive to ten years ago.  Then, all the employers who have to lay workers off can retroactively fire people back to ten years ago, and use the recovered wages to cover the retroactive increase...  I know it's stupid, but it's no more stupid than Cafferty's idea.

How about retroactive social security reform...or retroactive welfare reform...or retroactive education reform...?

That is truly a stupid sugges

That is truly a stupid suggestion. I like the comment: "That's the last time anybody addressed these folks." If "these folks" are the same people, still on minimum wage for ten years, they are clearly not worthy of a wage increase. 

If you can make something retroactive, and it doesn't work, can you retroactively take it back?  Heck, that's a win-win scenario!

Minimum wage is a joke. All

Minimum wage is a joke. All it does is force companies to hire illegals.

Wolfie & Cafferty - Socialists

Put a Soviet uniform on Cafferty...think about it, that would fit his appearance. 

"I guess they can't make the increase in the minimum wage retroactive to back November, huh, Jack?" Cafferty: "They ought to make it retroactive to ten years ago. That's the last time anybody addressed these folks." Blitzer: "Don't hold your breath on that one."

That's right, Jack, DON'T hold your breath on that one.  You live in AMERICA.  You and Wolfie don't seem to realize that small businesses are the average Joe trying to make it in the world and not the government. 

You want everyone to be on the dole.  You want to be institutionalized.  I have a suggestion for you rich media guys, Wolfie & Jack.  Come to Russia and try living on the pensioners income.  They get 1500 rubles per month from the socialist government they served.  That's $50. bucks! 

Come on over - "Try it you'll like it"!

Why do these MSM guys feell

Why do these MSM guys feel the need to suck up to the most bizarre radical members of their group? I'm not at all surprised that Cafferty made such a moronic comment. But for Wolf Blitzer, who is supposed to be a serious reporter, (whatever his biases) to treat it as worthy of consideration in a perfect world, is just shameful.

Let's see - $5.15 an hour for

Let's see - $5.15 an hour for 40 hours means the recipient of minimum wage received a gross of $892 per month.  Wow, bring on the caviar and koolaid!!

I used to think Jimmy Carter was the worst president in history - then along came George W. Bush.

I want the minimum wage to

I want the minimum wage to not-exist, but I take it by this that you want it to be much higher. Something tells me you're not an employer...
JMR

Minimum wage is for children.

Minimum wage is for children. If an adult is still making minimum wage after 25 or after 30, they deserve all the garbage they can eat and to live in rat infested hell holes!

I say let natural selection take care of them.... someone needs to buy them a one way ticket to the wilderness hundreds of miles away from anyone... and watch them get naturally selected. Because they're obviously too stupid to live.

____________________________________________________

"We can only reason from what is; we can reason on actualities, but not on possibilities." ~ Thomas Paine

BillAdkins is too stupid to live in a free society.

Bill,

The only reason that the Democrat Party supports an increase in the MW is to buy votes from their union-goon supporters, whose wages are indexed to the MW. You know, union-goons, the people who are too ignorant to negotiate their compensation themselves, and need someone with an 8th-grade education to do it for them. People stupid enough to vote themselves a raise, even if it means the destruction of their employer. Remember Eastern Airlines?

People like you, Bill.

This republic will not survive the continued neglect of its people.- Neal Boortz.

The bad part is that our fr

The bad part is that our friend Bill belongs to the NEA......;....

I always wanted to get into politics, but I was never light enough to
make the team.

What's the solution Billy?

Yet another non-answer.  What should the minimum wage be billy?  $10, $20, how about $50 and hour?  Do you own or are part of a small business?  If you own, then what are you paying your employees?  If you work for one, then go ask your boss why they are not paying $50 an hour minimum wage.  More often than not, it's your type who cry for a higher minimum wage for un-trained, un-skilled workers who don't plan on staying at that level their entire life, yet would be the first ones to scoff if it had to come out of your pocket.  Right out of the libwit playbook.  I take it then that you are doing your part to subsidize those of the minimum wage earners by giving over some of your unjustly gains?  Historically I expect no answer.

"I use to think rhayes was a clown - then along came Billy"

Let's see - $5.15 an hour f

Let's see - $5.15 an hour for 40 hours means the recipient of minimum wage received a gross of $892 per month.

I'm curious. How many workers in America are actually currently earning minimum wage? And how many of those workers still live with their parents, who provide them with housing, clothing, food, and health care at no cost? What will these workers be earning in 5 years? In 10 years?

Minimum Wage

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 2.2% of the American workers paid at hourly rates earned the minimum wage or less (http://www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2006.htm). Minimum wage workers tend to be young, unmarried, and are less likely to have a high school diploma. Feel free to check out the BLS site - lots of good information concerning employment, wages, and such.

I made minimum wage working a

I made minimum wage working at McDonalds as a kid one summer so I could buy a camera.  Nearly everyone i worked with did something similar and we did not mind. 

 I KNEW I would make more money as an adult since I would educate myself to open my opportunities for advancement.  And I did so.

The minimum wage should be th

The minimum wage should be that which the employer and the employee can come to agreement on.  If the Employee is willing to work for $1 an hour, more power to him.....

If you do not wish to work at the current wage, then DO NOT AGREE TO WORK FOR IT, but GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY OF THOSE WHO WILL...

Ok, now that I've taken a f

Ok, now that I've taken a few deep breaths, I can come back into the fray.

I don't think our local lurking libs can fight us on this one... as no matter what they say, we'll always win.

First, how many of us are making what we made in high school? Minimum wage? I wasn't. Once I left high school, I was started working at a cement factory... if I remember correctly, making around 12 bucks an hour. 1986, the minimum wage was around 3.35 I think, so I was making around four times the minimum wage. It is because I was able to create value in what I could provide. And it was back breaking work. How many of us are making 25,000 dollars a year? 35,000 a year? 80,000 a year? And how many of us will be making a six figure salary within a year? Bill the answer could be none or all. The fact is that you need to build value in yourself. This is what earning crap wages when you start out means. Minimum wages are a like carbon credits; a way of assuaging guilt about those less fortunate than us... but instead of buying our carbon credits with our own money, we force others to do it for us.

Capitalism is the answer to poverty. Competition and markets, as people get money, they spend, as they spend, competition is always trying to figure out what they'll buy. As competition gets tight, wages go up as competitors out bid each other on hiring the right talent. But when you artificially pay losers high wages, which I would say perfectly describes about 60% of union workers, you lose productivity and you lose markets and you lose the competition. We've seen it again and again, and still you liberals don't learn. The Japanese are beating us because they don't hog tie themselves to artificially high wages and benefits for employees no longer working for them.

I say, cancel any and all requirements for minimum wage, and tell all US companies they no longer have to deal with the unions, they can hire anyone to work for them at any wage they want and they can kick unions to the curb since unions are communist anyway.

____________________________________________________

"We can only reason from what is; we can reason on actualities, but not on possibilities." ~ Thomas Paine