MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: Minimum Wage
Interview
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SCHULTZ: Joining us tonight, Senator Barbara Boxer of California.
Senator, always good to have you on the Ed Show.
SEN. BARBARA BOXER, (D) CALIFORNIA: Thanks, Ed.
SCHULTZ: You bet. The Democrats use CBO numbers to make a case for the American people on a number of different fronts.
This report does have mixed results. Does the good outweigh the bad in this? The report estimates at 900,000 Americans would be lifted out of poverty. Over 16.5 million workers would get a raise, but the number of people that would lose their job because of attrition or because businesses couldn`t afford it would be half million. Your thoughts.
BOXER: Well, first, there`s lots of other studies that say no to that.
But let me just say this, when people are earning a decent living, when they don`t have to fear that they can feed their families when they come home after working a full-day, it does lift everyone up including the communities in which they live because they spend dollars in the community.
So I think overall, if we took the attitude that the Republicans take is don`t raise the minimum wage and we applied it -- when I was a kid and the minimum wage was a buck an hour, it would still be a buck an hour and by the way since then we`ve created tens and millions of jobs.
So I think, you know, the CBO comes out with these reports, they did it on healthcare and it turned out that was really good news also because people wouldn`t be stuck in job lock because they`ve finally have health insurance, they could start their own businesses, other people would take their jobs.
At the end of the day, we know from so many years and decades that raising the minimum wage is a win-win.
SCHULTZ: Does -- is this going to slow the momentum and making the case to the American people as you see it? Because obviously .
BOXER: No.
SCHULTZ: . House Republicans are going to go nuts on this.
BOXER: Well, they already went nuts on the whole idea of raising the minimum wage. Some of them don`t think there ought to be a minimum wage.
Again, Ed, it`s -- you got to take it to its simplest point. If you believe that raising the minimum wage would lose jobs, it never should have been raised from the time it was a buck, you know, in the 50s and the 60s and we`ve created about 80 million jobs since then.
So, no, I don`t see it this way. I think there`s strong support. I think we see the states moving forward. Everybody knows that you can`t work full-time .
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
BOXER: . and be in poverty. It makes no sense. So I don`t think that this report, I mean they`ll make a fuss over it but again when you delve through it, you look through it at the end of the day it`s going to be good. You know, two-thirds of those on the minimum wage are women and two-thirds of tip of workers are.
Now, can anyone argue that a tipped worker should be paid $2.13 an hour? I`d love to have this debate. And for every study the CBO has, we`ve got other studies that show otherwise.
SCHULTZ: Well, there`s proof positive. The states that have raised the minimum wage have not had unemployment go on the wrong direction. They .
BOXER: Correct.
SCHULTZ: . have seen a better economy, your state of California. I mean at the end of the day doesn`t it really what the people want? Do the people matter anymore? The vast majority .
BOXER: It`s what the people .
SCHULTZ: . of Americans want this.
BOXER: Yeah. It`s not only what the people want but it`s a fundamental question that you have to ask yourself. Should someone who works full- time, full-time sweat of the brow, come home at night, kiss their kids goodnight and wonder if they`ll have enough to feed them the next day.
That`s not the American dream, that`s not the American way and over the years you can`t look at this in a stagnant way because we will invest in other areas: infrastructure, clean energy .
SCHULTZ: Yeah.
BOXER: . will create many other new jobs. So, you know, I just think it`s a losing argument and I just take it back to the simple point, this attitude would have meant and still have a buck an hour in minimum wage and we know that`s ridiculous.
SCHULTZ: All right, Senator Barbara Boxer great to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your time.
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