On NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, moderator Chuck Todd fretted that after the show he would be inundated with complaints about his news coverage, but not from conservatives: "I'm going to get a ton of emails today, 'Gosh darn you, Meet the Press, great news on the economy, and you haven't done anything giving President Obama praise.'"
CNBC's Rick Santelli pushed back on Todd's assertion that there was "great news on the economy": "It is great improvement and we've come a long way, but remember, let's not get too happy about six-year cures for two-year flus. We've been long out of this recession. A lot of people aren't cheering."
Santelli added: "We had good wage growth in that [jobs] number [on Friday], and we had good jobs. However-" Todd interrupted: "That's what makes that a legit report, right? That wage growth?" Santelli continued:
However, hospitality and leisure get the most hiring but they represent the smallest percentage of the wage growth. That's the problem. You talked about all the wealth in Congress. There's a lot of wealth in D.C., there's not a lot of wealth throughout all the country shared equally.
Democratic Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed chimed in: "Fifty-seven months, ten million jobs, isn't enough, huh? 200,000 [jobs] ten months in a row." Santelli replied: "What's enough is when people who need it the most [have jobs]."
Reed reiterated: "Ten million jobs, fifty-seven months-" Santelli interjected: "And that's despite most government policy, not because of it."
Reed remarked: "Yeah that's what you say now, you weren't saying that when George Bush was President." Santelli countered: "I've said it all along, sir. All along."
Here is a transcript of the December 7 exchange:
11:25 AM ET
(...)
CHUCK TODD: Well, by the way, I have you here, the economy. I'm going to get a ton of emails today, "Gosh darn you, Meet the Press, great news on the economy, and you haven't done anything giving President Obama praise." What say you on the economy right now?
RICK SANTELLI: It is great improvement and we've come a long way, but remember, let's not get too happy about six-year cures for two-year flus. We've been long out of this recession. A lot of people aren't cheering. We had good wage growth in that number, and we had good jobs. However-
TODD: That's what makes that a legit report, right? That wage growth?
SANTELLI: However, hospitality and leisure get the most hiring but they represent the smallest percentage of the wage growth. That's the problem. You talked about all the wealth in Congress. There's a lot of wealth in D.C., there's not a lot of wealth throughout all the country shared equally.
AMY WALTER: That's right, that's right.
TODD: No, we definitely have an inequality issue.
KASIM REED: Fifty-seven months, ten million jobs, isn't enough, huh? 200,000 ten months in a row.
TODD: By the way-
SANTELLI: What's enough is when people who need it the most – when we look the issues that happened in New York-
REED: Yeah, but we also have to talk about 321,000 jobs ten months in a row--
TODD: If we stay on the same pace-
REED: Ten million jobs, fifty-seven months-
TODD: If we stay on the same pace-
SANTELLI: And that's despite most government policy, not because of it.
REED: Yeah that's what you say now...
SANTELLI: We're the most resilient economy on the planet-
REED: ...you weren't saying that when George Bush was President.
SANTELLI: I've said it all along, sir. All along.
REED: Okay, good.
(...)
