1 00:00:03,295 --> 00:00:05,380 [Reza] Your pen flipping is superb, by the way. 2 00:00:05,464 --> 00:00:07,758 -I've been doing it for years. -[Reza] Yeah. 3 00:00:07,841 --> 00:00:09,635 -[woman] Hey! -[Reniqua] Wow. Impressive. 4 00:00:09,718 --> 00:00:11,762 [Reza] I was watching him do it, like, "That's impressive." 5 00:00:13,096 --> 00:00:14,848 [Stewart] In the 2008 crisis, 6 00:00:14,932 --> 00:00:18,602 I remember government jumps in and bail out the mortgage derivative company. 7 00:00:18,685 --> 00:00:19,937 And it's billions of dollars. 8 00:00:20,020 --> 00:00:23,482 And the mortgages that had gone underwater, 9 00:00:23,565 --> 00:00:25,359 well, those people were all gonna lose their houses. 10 00:00:25,442 --> 00:00:26,443 [woman] Mm-hmm. 11 00:00:26,527 --> 00:00:28,654 And the Secretary of the Treasury, Tim Geithner, 12 00:00:28,737 --> 00:00:34,409 said we couldn't bail out the homeowners in the way that we bailed out the banks. 13 00:00:35,077 --> 00:00:36,161 And I said, "Why not?" 14 00:00:36,245 --> 00:00:38,997 -And he said, "Moral hazard." -Hmm. 15 00:00:39,081 --> 00:00:42,167 You would be rewarding those, 16 00:00:42,251 --> 00:00:46,046 through their own fault, their mortgages went south. 17 00:00:47,130 --> 00:00:51,385 So you gave billions of dollars to the people 18 00:00:51,468 --> 00:00:57,099 whose shitty bets nearly imploded the world economy. 19 00:00:57,182 --> 00:00:59,351 How is that not "moral hazard"? 20 00:01:00,477 --> 00:01:03,063 [chuckles] And I'll never forget, he said… 21 00:01:04,147 --> 00:01:07,025 "We had to land the plane. The plane was on fire"… 22 00:01:07,109 --> 00:01:09,027 -That's right. -…"and we had to land it." 23 00:01:09,111 --> 00:01:12,281 In that moment, I was like, "Oh, my God. And you're the Democrat." 24 00:01:12,364 --> 00:01:15,242 [all laughing] 25 00:01:15,325 --> 00:01:16,368 Oh, my God! 26 00:01:51,570 --> 00:01:53,572 -[audience cheering, applauding] -Hey! Good evening. 27 00:01:54,740 --> 00:01:55,908 Good evening. 28 00:01:55,991 --> 00:01:59,244 That is tremendous stamina on your part. 29 00:01:59,328 --> 00:02:01,747 That was-- Had to be a minute and a half of applause, 30 00:02:01,830 --> 00:02:04,124 like, "Can we just put our hands down?" 31 00:02:04,208 --> 00:02:05,709 [audience laughing] 32 00:02:05,792 --> 00:02:07,085 Good evening and welcome. 33 00:02:07,586 --> 00:02:12,174 As you know, our country continues to emerge from the recent pandemic. 34 00:02:12,257 --> 00:02:15,761 And then, of course, plunge back into it, and then re-emerge, and then… 35 00:02:16,470 --> 00:02:17,763 It's emotionally a lot. 36 00:02:18,472 --> 00:02:24,561 During this time, we learned it was the essential workers who kept us afloat. 37 00:02:24,645 --> 00:02:26,647 Wall Street didn't build this country. 38 00:02:26,730 --> 00:02:28,357 The middle class built the country. 39 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:32,361 …the people who built this country from the ground up. The workers. 40 00:02:32,444 --> 00:02:34,363 I love our blue-collar workers. 41 00:02:34,446 --> 00:02:37,616 I consider myself, in a certain way, to be a blue collar worker. 42 00:02:37,699 --> 00:02:41,161 …taxi cab drivers and cops and firefighters 43 00:02:41,245 --> 00:02:42,871 and waiters and waitresses 44 00:02:42,955 --> 00:02:45,040 and the men and women with calluses on their hands… 45 00:02:45,123 --> 00:02:48,085 …working man with calluses on-- on his hands… 46 00:02:48,168 --> 00:02:50,128 [both] …men and women with calluses on their hands… 47 00:02:50,212 --> 00:02:52,422 [all] …men and women with calluses on their hands… 48 00:02:52,506 --> 00:02:54,049 [all] …calluses on their hands… 49 00:02:54,132 --> 00:02:57,553 …whose hands are thick with calluses. 50 00:02:57,636 --> 00:03:01,807 [male narrator] It's the official truck of callused hands and elbow grease. 51 00:03:01,890 --> 00:03:06,186 [narrator 2] Praise the workers. Praise the work. 52 00:03:07,437 --> 00:03:08,939 [audience laughing] 53 00:03:10,190 --> 00:03:11,942 Yes, by all means, praise the worker. 54 00:03:12,025 --> 00:03:15,070 But for God's sakes, will no one give them hand lotion? 55 00:03:15,153 --> 00:03:16,905 [audience laughing] 56 00:03:16,989 --> 00:03:19,449 [stammers] Their mitts are like sandpaper. 57 00:03:19,533 --> 00:03:21,118 Give 'em some lotion. 58 00:03:23,203 --> 00:03:27,499 We love and respect the hardworking people of this country, 59 00:03:27,583 --> 00:03:32,880 although I'm pretty sure they don't always feel the love. 60 00:03:32,963 --> 00:03:34,965 First of all, my age. I'm going to, you know-- 61 00:03:35,048 --> 00:03:37,509 I need health care for a surgery if it comes up. 62 00:03:37,593 --> 00:03:39,386 I need assistance to pay my rent. 63 00:03:39,469 --> 00:03:43,515 After twenty-five and a half years, I make $8.99 an hour. 64 00:03:43,599 --> 00:03:47,352 The student loans will probably delay me ever buying a house with my fiancé. 65 00:03:47,436 --> 00:03:50,355 I dropped out of college. I had to. I couldn't afford it. 66 00:03:50,439 --> 00:03:51,607 My mother couldn't afford it. 67 00:03:51,690 --> 00:03:53,108 I don't get paid maternity leave. 68 00:03:53,192 --> 00:03:54,568 I work seven days a week. 69 00:03:54,651 --> 00:03:56,778 I can't afford to retire because of health care. 70 00:03:56,862 --> 00:03:59,823 I need childcare like I need my next breath. 71 00:03:59,907 --> 00:04:01,992 I have two degrees. 72 00:04:02,075 --> 00:04:04,786 I have student loans and bachelor's degrees 73 00:04:04,870 --> 00:04:06,622 and 14 years' experience. 74 00:04:06,705 --> 00:04:08,540 I should not have to come ask for food. 75 00:04:08,624 --> 00:04:10,250 I'm living paycheck to paycheck. 76 00:04:10,334 --> 00:04:12,961 If I live in a country that says it's number one, 77 00:04:13,545 --> 00:04:15,923 why do I feel like, you know, I'm at the bottom of the barrel? 78 00:04:16,005 --> 00:04:19,426 It turns out that hardworking Americans aren't doing that great. 79 00:04:20,552 --> 00:04:22,429 Anybody know what might help them? 80 00:04:22,513 --> 00:04:25,349 …single-payer health care, government paid childcare… 81 00:04:25,432 --> 00:04:27,309 -…free college… -…government healthy food… 82 00:04:27,392 --> 00:04:31,063 …early education, child education, universal childcare… 83 00:04:31,146 --> 00:04:35,108 …guaranteed job for everyone, with a family-sustaining wage, 84 00:04:35,192 --> 00:04:39,446 adequate family and medical leave, paid vacations and retirement security. 85 00:04:40,155 --> 00:04:44,076 You guys are dead-on. Man. That is totally unexpected. 86 00:04:44,159 --> 00:04:45,786 But you all are dead-on right. 87 00:04:45,869 --> 00:04:49,414 That is exactly what we need to do in this country. 88 00:04:49,498 --> 00:04:51,375 But I sensed a tone in your voice. 89 00:04:51,458 --> 00:04:54,086 Why aren't we doing those things? 90 00:04:54,169 --> 00:04:56,755 If that's not socialism, I'm not sure what is. 91 00:04:56,839 --> 00:04:58,966 …every socialist wish list item. 92 00:04:59,049 --> 00:05:01,260 …socialist and globalist wish list… 93 00:05:01,343 --> 00:05:02,469 …socialist fantasy… 94 00:05:02,553 --> 00:05:03,887 Paradise for all… 95 00:05:05,305 --> 00:05:06,306 Right! 96 00:05:09,685 --> 00:05:10,853 So there it is. 97 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:16,483 We cannot give our hardworking, leather-handed heroes 98 00:05:17,526 --> 00:05:20,821 their basic needs because that's… 99 00:05:23,574 --> 00:05:24,616 socialism. 100 00:05:30,789 --> 00:05:36,211 And thus… the problem with the economy. 101 00:05:36,879 --> 00:05:40,215 Now, if you've ever listened to AM radio in your uncle's van, 102 00:05:41,216 --> 00:05:45,596 you know: Socialism not good. 103 00:05:45,679 --> 00:05:48,891 The moment America becomes a socialist country 104 00:05:48,974 --> 00:05:52,978 is the moment that America ceases to be America. 105 00:05:53,061 --> 00:05:55,147 The United Socialist States of America… 106 00:05:55,230 --> 00:05:59,735 …job-killing, soul-crushing, socialist agenda. 107 00:05:59,818 --> 00:06:01,612 I mean, hello, Venezuela. 108 00:06:01,695 --> 00:06:04,489 They wanna take your pickup truck… 109 00:06:04,573 --> 00:06:05,741 They want your money, 110 00:06:05,824 --> 00:06:07,910 and if you won't give it to 'em, they'll take it. 111 00:06:07,993 --> 00:06:09,786 …they wanna rebuild your home… 112 00:06:09,870 --> 00:06:12,164 Socialism destroys. Socialism kills. 113 00:06:12,247 --> 00:06:13,582 People really die. 114 00:06:13,665 --> 00:06:15,292 -It's despair… -…destruction… 115 00:06:15,375 --> 00:06:16,835 -…it's starvation… -…poverty… 116 00:06:16,919 --> 00:06:18,295 -…squalor… -…chaos… 117 00:06:18,378 --> 00:06:19,922 Death. 118 00:06:20,005 --> 00:06:22,049 …they wanna take away your hamburgers… 119 00:06:28,347 --> 00:06:29,473 Death! 120 00:06:30,140 --> 00:06:31,308 Despair! 121 00:06:32,809 --> 00:06:34,061 The Hamburglar! 122 00:06:38,357 --> 00:06:40,442 And, you know, they're being so descriptive, 123 00:06:40,526 --> 00:06:44,029 but I just wish I had some kind of visual metaphor 124 00:06:44,112 --> 00:06:45,155 for what they mean. 125 00:06:51,078 --> 00:06:55,624 Takes a brave and adept hunter to bring down a giant, stationary placard. 126 00:06:58,627 --> 00:07:01,129 So we know that socialism is evil. 127 00:07:02,005 --> 00:07:05,342 But if you would indulge me for just a moment, 128 00:07:05,425 --> 00:07:07,636 why is it evil again? 129 00:07:07,719 --> 00:07:10,305 Is socialism a fair system? 130 00:07:10,389 --> 00:07:11,557 Oh, not at all. 131 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,101 Because what does socialism do? 132 00:07:14,184 --> 00:07:19,273 It allows the government to choose winners and losers. 133 00:07:19,356 --> 00:07:24,403 And that is one of the things that we as conservatives fight against. 134 00:07:24,486 --> 00:07:26,780 We want a level playing field. 135 00:07:27,865 --> 00:07:32,035 First of all, your blazer has magnificent buttons. 136 00:07:40,836 --> 00:07:43,088 I'm quite superficial, I hope you-- 137 00:07:44,798 --> 00:07:46,592 So, socialism is bad 138 00:07:47,217 --> 00:07:52,055 because it's the government picking the winners and losers. 139 00:07:52,890 --> 00:07:54,349 And there's nothing worse than that. 140 00:07:54,433 --> 00:07:58,228 Not spiders with wings, not grandma titty punching. 141 00:07:58,312 --> 00:08:00,439 There's nothing worse. 142 00:08:02,524 --> 00:08:05,777 Basically saying, "If you're a loser, it's your fault. 143 00:08:05,861 --> 00:08:08,363 And government stepping in is socialism. 144 00:08:08,447 --> 00:08:11,033 Get your shit together, 145 00:08:11,116 --> 00:08:16,330 and keep Uncle Sam's sweet teats out of your dirty fucking loser mouth." 146 00:08:16,413 --> 00:08:19,708 Uncle Sam wants you to leave these bad boys alone. 147 00:08:19,791 --> 00:08:22,002 [audience laughing] 148 00:08:22,961 --> 00:08:25,797 There's only one-- There's only one problem with this. 149 00:08:27,132 --> 00:08:32,136 And that is, government picks winners and losers all the time. 150 00:08:32,638 --> 00:08:36,683 The White House gives an early Christmas present to Detroit's automakers, 151 00:08:36,767 --> 00:08:38,519 a $17 billion loan. 152 00:08:38,602 --> 00:08:42,272 The airline industry has gotten a $50 billion lifeline. 153 00:08:42,356 --> 00:08:45,442 …$23 million incentive package for Amazon. 154 00:08:45,526 --> 00:08:48,445 JPMorgan Chase got $25 billion. 155 00:08:48,529 --> 00:08:50,239 Chrysler got some seven billion dollars. 156 00:08:50,322 --> 00:08:55,244 $700 billion of your taxpayer money to Wall Street big banks. 157 00:08:55,327 --> 00:09:00,165 The tuna company StarKist plus gets a $62 million tax credit. 158 00:09:00,249 --> 00:09:03,293 Wisconsin is giving Foxconn three billion dollars. 159 00:09:03,377 --> 00:09:07,673 The state offered more than $845 million 160 00:09:07,756 --> 00:09:10,259 for Apple to build right where I'm standing right now. 161 00:09:10,342 --> 00:09:12,344 [gasping] I thought we cut that clip. 162 00:09:12,427 --> 00:09:15,055 I thought-- [stammers] I thought the Apple clip got cut. 163 00:09:15,138 --> 00:09:16,890 I don't-- [giggles] 164 00:09:16,974 --> 00:09:19,059 That's not-- That's-- That's-- 165 00:09:19,142 --> 00:09:21,562 [shouting] And the last one was very fair. 166 00:09:21,645 --> 00:09:23,897 [audience laughing, applauding] 167 00:09:26,149 --> 00:09:27,192 All of it is-- 168 00:09:27,276 --> 00:09:29,152 [applauding continues] 169 00:09:32,990 --> 00:09:34,116 I'll see myself out. 170 00:09:34,199 --> 00:09:36,869 [audience laughs] 171 00:09:36,952 --> 00:09:42,332 So it turns out that the government is picking winners and losers. 172 00:09:42,416 --> 00:09:45,169 It's just picking corporations to be the winners. 173 00:09:46,044 --> 00:09:47,045 Man, I would imagine 174 00:09:47,129 --> 00:09:52,885 that good free-market capitalists hate this type of socialist intervention. 175 00:09:53,427 --> 00:09:57,556 Let's be clear. The auto bailout saved 1.5 million jobs. 176 00:09:57,639 --> 00:10:00,684 When we figure out who to triage, we must save Boeing. 177 00:10:00,767 --> 00:10:03,061 Stabilizing the banks was essential. 178 00:10:03,145 --> 00:10:06,273 We incentivized Amazon to come, 179 00:10:06,356 --> 00:10:10,110 as we incentivize every big business to come. 180 00:10:10,194 --> 00:10:14,364 Ten billion is a small price to pay for saving a company of that magnitude. 181 00:10:26,627 --> 00:10:31,673 So apparently government picking winners and losers in this case is great. 182 00:10:32,633 --> 00:10:34,760 Not only does the government pick winners and losers, 183 00:10:34,843 --> 00:10:35,969 but with these bailouts, 184 00:10:36,053 --> 00:10:40,224 they're apparently picking losers and turning them into winners. 185 00:10:41,517 --> 00:10:43,352 Just out of curiosity, 186 00:10:43,435 --> 00:10:46,772 what would you say if we bailed out a person? 187 00:10:46,855 --> 00:10:52,069 Making being poor more comfortable has only helped people to stay poor. 188 00:10:52,152 --> 00:10:53,862 They started sending checks to people, 189 00:10:53,946 --> 00:10:57,449 getting them a little bit more reliant on government, more reliant on government. 190 00:10:57,533 --> 00:11:00,118 And now they're full-blown incentivizing laziness. 191 00:11:00,202 --> 00:11:03,580 Because why work hard when the government is gonna cut you a check? 192 00:11:03,664 --> 00:11:06,625 The welfare state has incentivized women to marry the government 193 00:11:06,708 --> 00:11:09,378 and allowed men to abandon their financial and moral responsibility. 194 00:11:09,461 --> 00:11:11,296 "Women are marrying governments!" 195 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:14,508 Is that really any worse than marrying men? 196 00:11:14,591 --> 00:11:15,592 Probably not. 197 00:11:17,052 --> 00:11:19,513 I mean, to be honest… 198 00:11:22,015 --> 00:11:24,101 are we that much of a bargain? No. 199 00:11:24,977 --> 00:11:27,771 And by the way, it is 2021… 200 00:11:27,855 --> 00:11:30,148 I believe it's time men can also marry governments. 201 00:11:30,232 --> 00:11:31,441 I think that's something-- 202 00:11:35,487 --> 00:11:37,573 That's a woke crowd, right there. 203 00:11:41,952 --> 00:11:48,125 The federal government intervenes all the time in favor of corporations, 204 00:11:48,208 --> 00:11:50,127 be it through lowering corporate tax rates, 205 00:11:50,210 --> 00:11:54,840 deregulating certain industries, industry subsidies, bailouts… 206 00:11:54,923 --> 00:11:57,926 And I assume, since a lot of that comes from the taxpayers, 207 00:11:58,010 --> 00:12:01,305 we at least get some say in what they do with the money. 208 00:12:01,805 --> 00:12:05,475 I certainly don't want the government trying to direct companies 209 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:07,477 to put their capital in this place or that place. 210 00:12:07,561 --> 00:12:10,314 The federal government should not be in the business 211 00:12:10,397 --> 00:12:12,524 of specifying executive compensation. 212 00:12:12,608 --> 00:12:15,611 I really just don't think it's the job of the government 213 00:12:15,694 --> 00:12:18,822 to decide how companies should spend their money. 214 00:12:18,906 --> 00:12:21,825 Let companies decide how they want to spend their money. 215 00:12:21,909 --> 00:12:24,995 Don't interfere with private businesses. Let them make their decisions. 216 00:12:25,078 --> 00:12:27,206 Government should have zero role 217 00:12:27,289 --> 00:12:32,085 in determining, in influencing, in mandating any type of CEO compensation. 218 00:12:32,169 --> 00:12:33,587 These are private companies. 219 00:12:33,670 --> 00:12:37,174 Yeah, it's interesting, because when we bail out people, 220 00:12:37,257 --> 00:12:39,384 we got nothing but say. 221 00:12:39,468 --> 00:12:43,096 For instance, with food stamps, they cannot buy diapers, 222 00:12:43,180 --> 00:12:47,476 cleaning supplies, vitamins or hot food. 223 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:48,769 Hot food. 224 00:12:49,561 --> 00:12:51,271 Corporations can use bailout money 225 00:12:51,355 --> 00:12:53,732 to pay their already wealthy CEOs if they feel like it. 226 00:12:53,815 --> 00:12:56,568 But God forbid a poor person finds their way 227 00:12:56,652 --> 00:12:59,279 to a salad bar's heat-lamp pot roast. 228 00:12:59,363 --> 00:13:00,948 "No, no, no! 229 00:13:01,615 --> 00:13:07,162 Only the rich get to suckle the nectar of premade meatball subs." 230 00:13:10,916 --> 00:13:14,086 "That is the domain of the aristocracy." 231 00:13:18,966 --> 00:13:21,051 When corporations fail, you pay for it. 232 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:23,720 But when they succeed, it's theirs. 233 00:13:23,804 --> 00:13:26,890 They socialize their losses and privatize their gains. 234 00:13:27,474 --> 00:13:29,017 Why do we allow that? 235 00:13:29,101 --> 00:13:30,352 Consider this: 236 00:13:30,435 --> 00:13:33,522 Wealthy people do not stash their billions 237 00:13:33,605 --> 00:13:36,483 in safe deposit boxes loaded with $100 bills. 238 00:13:36,567 --> 00:13:39,361 They don't do that, and they don't spend it all at the mall. 239 00:13:39,444 --> 00:13:41,154 They don't spend like crazy. 240 00:13:41,238 --> 00:13:43,574 No, wealthy people invest. 241 00:13:43,657 --> 00:13:46,535 It is investment that creates jobs and economic growth. 242 00:13:47,286 --> 00:13:49,246 See, this is the lie they tell you, 243 00:13:49,329 --> 00:13:51,832 that all this money flowing towards corporate, moneyed interests 244 00:13:51,915 --> 00:13:54,418 is actually for your benefit. 245 00:13:54,501 --> 00:13:57,880 That government intervention for corporations is our free market, 246 00:13:58,672 --> 00:14:02,301 but government intervention for workers is socialism. 247 00:14:02,968 --> 00:14:05,345 And that's the reason for the socialism scaremongering. 248 00:14:05,429 --> 00:14:09,975 It's a false choice to make you believe that this country has but two options: 249 00:14:10,559 --> 00:14:16,523 a socialist, authoritarian… hamburgerless, Venezuelan nightmare, 250 00:14:17,774 --> 00:14:19,693 or accept the status quo, 251 00:14:19,776 --> 00:14:22,196 where large corporations benefit from government help, 252 00:14:22,279 --> 00:14:25,157 then use some of those profits to lobby the same government 253 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:26,992 for more government help. 254 00:14:27,075 --> 00:14:29,119 They want you to believe that in a free market, 255 00:14:29,203 --> 00:14:34,041 while your wages stay low, someday, the largesse will eventually trickle down. 256 00:14:34,833 --> 00:14:35,918 And in the meantime, 257 00:14:36,001 --> 00:14:39,129 enjoy watching your tax dollars help billionaires 258 00:14:39,213 --> 00:14:41,715 launch themselves into fucking space. 259 00:14:42,382 --> 00:14:43,383 We'll be right back. 260 00:14:52,017 --> 00:14:54,311 America needs inspiration. 261 00:14:55,938 --> 00:14:58,315 -Mr. Bezos. -Mr. Bezos? A question. 262 00:14:58,398 --> 00:15:00,234 A vision for the future. 263 00:15:00,317 --> 00:15:03,278 A reminder of what one man can do. 264 00:15:07,699 --> 00:15:10,285 I'm going to ride a rocket into space. 265 00:15:11,620 --> 00:15:14,623 And it's going to look just like my dick. 266 00:15:16,333 --> 00:15:19,711 We've been there before. Many times, okay? Men, women. 267 00:15:19,795 --> 00:15:24,258 Do you know, in 1961, we sent a chimpanzee into space? 268 00:15:24,341 --> 00:15:27,052 But not in a dick that looks like my dick. 269 00:15:30,013 --> 00:15:33,684 Billionaire Elon Musk joins the race into space. 270 00:15:36,436 --> 00:15:39,982 I too will be riding my big, old dick into space. 271 00:15:47,197 --> 00:15:50,993 People see things the way they are and ask, "Why?" 272 00:15:51,076 --> 00:15:53,453 I see things the way they could be, and ask-- 273 00:15:53,537 --> 00:15:57,165 I'm sorry, could we maybe get the curve 274 00:15:57,916 --> 00:16:00,586 to go midway up the shaft of the space dick? 275 00:16:02,921 --> 00:16:04,631 Not enough! Not short enough. 276 00:16:05,257 --> 00:16:07,968 Not wide enough. Not enough! 277 00:16:09,094 --> 00:16:11,847 You know who else had a chode? Galileo. 278 00:16:14,474 --> 00:16:18,270 You know aerodynamics? A rocket takes off into the sky. 279 00:16:24,985 --> 00:16:26,195 I am a hero. 280 00:16:26,278 --> 00:16:27,779 I am a conqueror. 281 00:16:27,863 --> 00:16:29,406 I am a god. 282 00:16:29,990 --> 00:16:34,286 You own a e-bookstore and a whole grip of Whole Foods. 283 00:16:38,957 --> 00:16:41,210 One small step for mankind. 284 00:16:41,919 --> 00:16:45,088 One giant leap for me, personally. 285 00:16:59,811 --> 00:17:02,564 Oh, so good of you to join us, Bezos. 286 00:17:02,648 --> 00:17:03,899 Us? 287 00:17:06,568 --> 00:17:09,279 Zuckerberg, is that you? 288 00:17:10,196 --> 00:17:12,699 You don't have enough sunscreen to be up here, Zuckerberg. 289 00:17:13,951 --> 00:17:16,369 Technically, I got here first. 290 00:17:24,169 --> 00:17:25,170 Chode. 291 00:17:58,620 --> 00:18:01,540 We have this commitment to the American dream, 292 00:18:01,623 --> 00:18:03,458 or this "bootstraps" myth. You know? 293 00:18:03,542 --> 00:18:07,546 Like, "If you're American, you work hard, and you need to earn your keep." 294 00:18:07,629 --> 00:18:10,549 But otherwise it's a handout when everyone else gets a handout. 295 00:18:10,632 --> 00:18:12,217 You had a great stat. Something like: 296 00:18:12,301 --> 00:18:15,053 For every dollar that they put into… 297 00:18:15,137 --> 00:18:17,055 Yeah, it's that you don't get a dollar back. 298 00:18:17,139 --> 00:18:20,434 When you give corporations money, via subsidies, tax rate, 299 00:18:20,517 --> 00:18:23,103 you tend to not get your dollar back, as a government. 300 00:18:23,187 --> 00:18:24,855 In fact, research shows 301 00:18:24,938 --> 00:18:27,524 that the best investment the government makes is children. 302 00:18:27,608 --> 00:18:30,027 We should probably explain: Susan knows everything. 303 00:18:30,110 --> 00:18:31,862 'Cause the audience hasn't seen… 304 00:18:32,821 --> 00:18:35,991 I was taught that if you worked hard… 305 00:18:37,284 --> 00:18:40,370 that you would be able to live a decent life. 306 00:18:40,454 --> 00:18:42,206 That doesn't work anymore. 307 00:18:42,956 --> 00:18:46,835 You can break your back, sweating blood… 308 00:18:47,628 --> 00:18:51,757 the only people who are making up from our hard work 309 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:54,927 are our CEOs, our shareholders. 310 00:18:55,010 --> 00:18:59,431 We have been investing in making life easier and more comfortable 311 00:18:59,515 --> 00:19:01,850 for corporations for a very long time. 312 00:19:01,934 --> 00:19:05,312 We're still really afraid of making, like, 313 00:19:05,395 --> 00:19:10,150 corporations, and people at the top of the wealth bracket, unhappy. 314 00:19:10,234 --> 00:19:12,903 But we've just seen inequality growing. 315 00:19:12,986 --> 00:19:14,696 It's only grown more and more. 316 00:19:14,780 --> 00:19:16,073 Wages have stagnated. 317 00:19:16,156 --> 00:19:21,036 I have two jobs and a bachelor's degree and I struggle to make ends meet. 318 00:19:21,870 --> 00:19:24,373 The federal poverty guidelines say that I'm not poor, 319 00:19:24,456 --> 00:19:26,708 but I cashed in a jar full of change the other night 320 00:19:26,792 --> 00:19:29,294 so my daughter could attend a high school band competition 321 00:19:29,378 --> 00:19:30,671 with her band. 322 00:19:31,463 --> 00:19:33,924 I can't go grocery shopping without a calculator. 323 00:19:34,550 --> 00:19:38,345 I had to decide which bills not to pay to be here in this room today. 324 00:19:38,971 --> 00:19:42,266 Believe me, I pulled myself up by the bootstraps so many damn times 325 00:19:42,349 --> 00:19:43,809 that I've ripped 'em off. 326 00:19:48,313 --> 00:19:51,525 So now let's talk a little bit about… 327 00:19:51,608 --> 00:19:52,901 Let's talk a little bit about 328 00:19:52,985 --> 00:19:57,823 why the workers we profess to love so much are getting left behind. 329 00:19:57,906 --> 00:19:59,741 First, we have Magaly Licolli, 330 00:19:59,825 --> 00:20:02,828 cofounder of Venceremos, a nonprofit community center 331 00:20:02,911 --> 00:20:06,206 that organizes poultry plant workers in Arkansas. 332 00:20:06,290 --> 00:20:07,958 We've got Amy Jo Hutchison. 333 00:20:08,041 --> 00:20:10,669 She's an organizer and advocate for low-wage and impoverished workers 334 00:20:10,752 --> 00:20:11,795 in West Virginia. 335 00:20:11,879 --> 00:20:14,798 Darrick Hamilton is a professor of economics and urban policy 336 00:20:14,882 --> 00:20:16,341 at the New School in New York. 337 00:20:16,425 --> 00:20:20,304 Douglas Holtz-Eakin is the former director of Congressional Budget Office 338 00:20:20,387 --> 00:20:23,724 and current president of the think tank American Action Forum. 339 00:20:23,807 --> 00:20:27,060 Amy Jo, I want to start with you, because the testimony was so powerful. 340 00:20:27,144 --> 00:20:29,271 Tell me a little bit about why you were called that day, 341 00:20:29,354 --> 00:20:31,148 and what you were testifying about. 342 00:20:32,232 --> 00:20:35,694 I was called to do that because I'd been to Congress before 343 00:20:35,777 --> 00:20:37,196 to speak at a press briefing 344 00:20:37,279 --> 00:20:40,949 when they weren't sure whether they were gonna reauthorize CHIP insurance for kids. 345 00:20:41,033 --> 00:20:42,910 I'm the only parent of two children. 346 00:20:42,993 --> 00:20:45,120 Both of my kids were insured on CHIP. 347 00:20:45,204 --> 00:20:46,914 They wanted someone from West Virginia. 348 00:20:46,997 --> 00:20:49,208 We have one of the highest poverty rates in the nation, 349 00:20:49,291 --> 00:20:50,792 especially with child poverty. 350 00:20:50,876 --> 00:20:52,628 I thought it was incredibly powerful 351 00:20:52,711 --> 00:20:55,380 because it was exactly what they say it isn't, 352 00:20:55,464 --> 00:20:57,841 which is, "People are lazy. They're not working hard." 353 00:20:57,925 --> 00:21:00,469 And your story is: You're working your ass off. 354 00:21:00,552 --> 00:21:01,637 Absolutely. 355 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:04,765 And, Magaly, you represent poultry workers, 356 00:21:04,848 --> 00:21:09,186 which is probably one of the most difficult jobs to do, 357 00:21:09,269 --> 00:21:11,396 just purely on a physical basis. 358 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:13,482 But also communities that are-- 359 00:21:13,565 --> 00:21:16,944 oftentimes don't have any voice in the system. 360 00:21:17,027 --> 00:21:21,698 Yeah. I began organizing poultry workers since 2014. 361 00:21:21,782 --> 00:21:26,119 The majority of the community are really disabled because of these jobs. 362 00:21:26,620 --> 00:21:29,206 Ergonomic issues, carpal tunnel syndrome. 363 00:21:29,289 --> 00:21:31,625 Most of them have respiratory problems. 364 00:21:31,708 --> 00:21:36,839 So whenever the pandemic hit, it was a red flag for all of the workers. 365 00:21:36,922 --> 00:21:38,924 And we were like, "What is going to happen?" 366 00:21:39,007 --> 00:21:41,593 Because these workers don't even have paid sick leave. 367 00:21:41,677 --> 00:21:45,806 I want to try and figure out some specifics 368 00:21:45,889 --> 00:21:50,310 on what we think can change the dynamic for workers. 369 00:21:50,394 --> 00:21:53,564 Where can we do it from top down rather than bottom up? 370 00:21:54,189 --> 00:21:58,277 Well, I think the one thing to start with is way before they become workers 371 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:01,321 and way before we're worried about the corporations. 372 00:22:01,405 --> 00:22:05,200 We have a failing K-12 education system in the United States. 373 00:22:05,284 --> 00:22:09,371 Those young people will never have a fighting chance 374 00:22:09,454 --> 00:22:10,455 if we don't take care of 'em. 375 00:22:10,539 --> 00:22:13,166 And I think that's the biggest problem this country faces. 376 00:22:13,250 --> 00:22:14,668 It's been that way for ten years. 377 00:22:14,751 --> 00:22:16,170 We measure it. We don't fix it. 378 00:22:16,253 --> 00:22:18,172 -But isn't that-- -So that's the start. 379 00:22:18,255 --> 00:22:23,177 Isn't that also still a function of-- Education is also a function of poverty. 380 00:22:23,260 --> 00:22:27,806 -And if you're asking teachers to fix… -More than just teach. 381 00:22:27,890 --> 00:22:30,350 -…inherent, systemic economic disparities… -Yes. I agree. 382 00:22:30,434 --> 00:22:32,352 …I think you're putting too much on people. 383 00:22:32,436 --> 00:22:35,272 -I'm not blaming the teachers. -Right. I'm just saying-- 384 00:22:35,355 --> 00:22:36,899 I'm saying-- 385 00:22:36,982 --> 00:22:40,319 If you start out that far behind when you've come into your first job… 386 00:22:40,402 --> 00:22:41,737 -Good grief. -But a lot-- 387 00:22:41,820 --> 00:22:43,822 It makes everything we're gonna suggest much harder. 388 00:22:43,906 --> 00:22:45,574 Education is not a panacea. 389 00:22:45,657 --> 00:22:48,076 Education has become a political ruse. 390 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:51,872 Education shifts responsibility from public onto individuals. 391 00:22:51,955 --> 00:22:55,542 "If only you work hard and study hard, you will be fine." 392 00:22:55,626 --> 00:22:58,545 If you're Black and your head of household has a college degree, 393 00:22:58,629 --> 00:23:02,341 you have less wealth than a white family where the head dropped out of high school. 394 00:23:02,424 --> 00:23:04,885 So that obviously is established historically. 395 00:23:04,968 --> 00:23:06,512 I mean, we got the causality wrong. 396 00:23:06,595 --> 00:23:11,391 Perhaps it is wealth itself that generates capacity to get a degree 397 00:23:11,475 --> 00:23:13,644 or a certain amount of education. 398 00:23:13,727 --> 00:23:15,062 At the end of the day, 399 00:23:15,145 --> 00:23:20,526 we need an economy that empowers people with resources well beyond education. 400 00:23:20,609 --> 00:23:23,278 Including education, but many other factors, 401 00:23:23,362 --> 00:23:25,197 like good health, like a job. 402 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:27,824 Literally having a job. Right to a job. 403 00:23:27,908 --> 00:23:29,409 I have a bachelor's degree. 404 00:23:31,578 --> 00:23:33,830 I'm still impoverished, you know. 405 00:23:33,914 --> 00:23:36,750 There are people with bachelor's degrees making $15 an hour. 406 00:23:36,834 --> 00:23:41,421 -Right. -I was a gifted kid in high school, right? 407 00:23:41,505 --> 00:23:43,048 The world was my oyster. 408 00:23:43,131 --> 00:23:46,009 But I'm still living in poverty, with a bachelor's degree, in this country. 409 00:23:46,093 --> 00:23:48,262 -A lot of the money for education… -Shouldn't be that way. 410 00:23:48,345 --> 00:23:53,016 …actually is lost in the tax subsidies that we give to corporations. 411 00:23:53,100 --> 00:23:56,812 So they're inexplicably and inextricably linked. 412 00:23:56,895 --> 00:23:59,773 Okay, so let's-- Education is one thing. 413 00:23:59,857 --> 00:24:02,442 Amy Jo, what would you say you need? 414 00:24:02,526 --> 00:24:04,278 A care infrastructure. 415 00:24:04,361 --> 00:24:06,029 You want to talk about early education, 416 00:24:06,113 --> 00:24:08,448 we need to include early childhood education as well. 417 00:24:08,532 --> 00:24:12,202 You cannot have workforce participation if you do not have childcare. 418 00:24:12,286 --> 00:24:15,747 You will never-- Childcare in the state of West Virginia, for one child, 419 00:24:15,831 --> 00:24:18,292 for a private-pay family, costs more for one year 420 00:24:18,375 --> 00:24:21,128 than a year at West Virginia University or Marshall University, 421 00:24:21,211 --> 00:24:23,672 which is our state's two largest schools. 422 00:24:23,755 --> 00:24:27,426 So parents are paying more for childcare than they are for college tuition. 423 00:24:27,509 --> 00:24:29,887 So what's gonna incentivize me to go to work? 424 00:24:29,970 --> 00:24:33,015 Childcare has been a middle-class issue 425 00:24:33,098 --> 00:24:35,642 for two decades now on the left and the right. 426 00:24:35,726 --> 00:24:38,896 If you go to solidly Republican congressional districts, 427 00:24:38,979 --> 00:24:43,525 you will find that the leading issue for a lot of women is health and childcare. 428 00:24:43,609 --> 00:24:44,776 That's it. It's really simple. 429 00:24:44,860 --> 00:24:47,112 I don't even think this should be a political issue, though. 430 00:24:47,196 --> 00:24:50,365 Like, start paying attention to the-- Maslow's hierarchy of needs, right? 431 00:24:50,449 --> 00:24:52,451 I have a social work background-- 432 00:24:52,534 --> 00:24:54,786 Oh, shit. Maslow's hierarchy-- 433 00:24:59,416 --> 00:25:01,251 See, now I'm getting a little upset. 434 00:25:01,335 --> 00:25:04,296 -You do have a bachelor's degree. -See, I do. 435 00:25:04,379 --> 00:25:08,342 -Oh, killing it, Amy Jo. -I wanted to be a social worker. 436 00:25:08,425 --> 00:25:11,428 But I mean, you know, it's not rocket science to me. 437 00:25:11,512 --> 00:25:14,097 Just think about the basic needs of human beings. 438 00:25:14,181 --> 00:25:19,311 There was a period in American history where we had improvements. 439 00:25:19,394 --> 00:25:21,980 We had productivity growing at 100% 440 00:25:22,064 --> 00:25:26,777 over a period from 1948 to about 1979, 441 00:25:26,860 --> 00:25:29,947 and labor real wages growing in lockstep. 442 00:25:30,030 --> 00:25:32,824 Then as a result of the Civil Rights Movement, 443 00:25:32,908 --> 00:25:34,952 there was a corporate backlash to that gain. 444 00:25:35,035 --> 00:25:39,081 And it formed into what we now see as supply-side economics. 445 00:25:39,164 --> 00:25:43,544 This idea that if only we invest in the dynamism of corporations, 446 00:25:43,627 --> 00:25:45,921 that that's somehow gonna lift all boats, 447 00:25:46,004 --> 00:25:48,048 that somehow workers are gonna improve as well. 448 00:25:48,131 --> 00:25:50,509 -It obviously hasn't been realized. -Right. 449 00:25:50,592 --> 00:25:54,847 Amy Jo, you know, West Virginia has kind of a vaunted labor history. 450 00:25:54,930 --> 00:25:57,140 You know, mine workers and people like that. 451 00:25:57,224 --> 00:25:58,475 Where is it now? 452 00:25:58,559 --> 00:26:00,602 Like, in terms of the people that you represent? 453 00:26:00,686 --> 00:26:02,896 Now we're a right-to-work state. 454 00:26:02,980 --> 00:26:06,108 And what the state legislature's trying to pass, we can't even organize now. 455 00:26:06,191 --> 00:26:07,943 They don't even want us to organize, you know. 456 00:26:08,026 --> 00:26:11,113 But I think, you know, one of the biggest obstacles from my-- 457 00:26:11,196 --> 00:26:12,406 This is my lived experience. 458 00:26:12,489 --> 00:26:14,658 Don't wanna speak for the millions of poor people out there. 459 00:26:14,741 --> 00:26:16,827 But one of the obstacles is, like, 460 00:26:16,910 --> 00:26:20,706 you know, you're choosing between organizing and pissing off your boss. 461 00:26:21,290 --> 00:26:23,041 And if you're in that gray space 462 00:26:23,125 --> 00:26:27,296 between not qualifying for SNAP and not making enough to get by, 463 00:26:27,379 --> 00:26:30,340 like, the real decision at the end of the day will come to, 464 00:26:30,424 --> 00:26:33,218 "Amy Jo, are you gonna join this union and piss off your boss, 465 00:26:33,302 --> 00:26:35,512 or are you going to feed your kids in the morning?" 466 00:26:35,596 --> 00:26:39,349 You know, and so that's how drastic this stuff is. 467 00:26:39,433 --> 00:26:42,311 I organize poultry workers in the home of Tyson Foods. 468 00:26:42,394 --> 00:26:45,564 And so Tyson has so much influence over the community 469 00:26:45,647 --> 00:26:48,150 that workers could not even travel with me. 470 00:26:48,233 --> 00:26:51,361 Or they cannot even do, like, TV interviews 471 00:26:51,445 --> 00:26:54,781 because they're afraid that they're gonna be losing their jobs-- 472 00:26:54,865 --> 00:26:58,243 -The workers won't come on camera? -On TV? No. 473 00:26:58,327 --> 00:27:01,788 Tyson has so much power in these rural white communities. 474 00:27:01,872 --> 00:27:04,750 Like, last year with the pandemic, 475 00:27:04,833 --> 00:27:09,129 we saw the huge power of the meat companies over the government. 476 00:27:09,213 --> 00:27:12,049 I mean, the processing plants were the hot spot of COVID-19. 477 00:27:12,132 --> 00:27:18,347 And they paid so much millions to lobby for the companies to not shut down. 478 00:27:18,430 --> 00:27:21,767 What power is strong enough 479 00:27:21,850 --> 00:27:26,563 to countervail corporate power in this country? 480 00:27:26,647 --> 00:27:28,857 To me, the answer is obvious: public power. 481 00:27:28,941 --> 00:27:32,361 At the end of the day, government works on behalf of people, 482 00:27:32,444 --> 00:27:34,530 and that is who they should be responsible for. 483 00:27:34,613 --> 00:27:36,698 And we shouldn't give Treasury a pass. 484 00:27:36,782 --> 00:27:38,283 We saw through this pandemic 485 00:27:38,367 --> 00:27:41,203 that Treasury could do more than just revenue collect. 486 00:27:41,286 --> 00:27:44,039 They could send resources directly to the American people. 487 00:27:44,122 --> 00:27:47,918 Treasury and the tax code is America's biggest fiscal tool. 488 00:27:48,001 --> 00:27:49,503 And right now it is out of whack 489 00:27:49,586 --> 00:27:52,631 with the values of government working on behalf of people 490 00:27:52,714 --> 00:27:54,550 as opposed to the corporations. 491 00:27:54,633 --> 00:27:57,719 I really appreciate you guys coming here and having the conversation. 492 00:27:57,803 --> 00:28:00,305 I'm pretty sure we fixed it? 493 00:28:04,101 --> 00:28:05,727 Thank you so much. We'll be right back 494 00:28:07,437 --> 00:28:08,814 Guys, we did it! 495 00:28:11,650 --> 00:28:13,110 Hi. I'm LeVar Burton. 496 00:28:13,193 --> 00:28:15,070 You know me from… 497 00:28:15,153 --> 00:28:16,154 You know me. 498 00:28:16,780 --> 00:28:19,324 I've already taught one MasterClass, but wouldn't you know it? 499 00:28:19,408 --> 00:28:21,118 I've got more to say. 500 00:28:21,201 --> 00:28:24,329 So in this new series, I'm going to teach you 501 00:28:24,413 --> 00:28:27,499 why this country won't raise the minimum wage. 502 00:28:28,083 --> 00:28:31,086 Where's that book for the little Internet course I'm doing? 503 00:28:31,712 --> 00:28:32,713 Here it is. 504 00:28:37,968 --> 00:28:40,429 "This all started with slave labor." 505 00:28:40,512 --> 00:28:42,931 But Kunta don't need to read that shit. 506 00:28:43,015 --> 00:28:45,058 America won't raise the minimum wage 507 00:28:45,142 --> 00:28:47,394 because they're used to getting the work for free. 508 00:28:47,477 --> 00:28:49,980 That's why we need a higher minimum wage, 509 00:28:50,063 --> 00:28:53,066 because if they could get away with it, they'd pay you nothing. 510 00:28:53,650 --> 00:28:56,028 It's not slavery. It's perpetual poverty. 511 00:28:57,362 --> 00:28:59,072 Join me for my next series, 512 00:28:59,156 --> 00:29:01,825 where I teach you about American beauty standards 513 00:29:01,909 --> 00:29:04,995 using the exact same book. 514 00:29:05,078 --> 00:29:08,415 But you don't have to take my word for it. 515 00:29:09,249 --> 00:29:10,501 I'll see you next time. 516 00:29:18,717 --> 00:29:21,595 I think, in 2008, "We can't let the auto industry fail." 517 00:29:21,678 --> 00:29:24,556 "We can't let big banks fail, the insurance industry fail." 518 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:28,477 I think there's still a lot of support for the idea 519 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:30,896 that corporations are too big to fail. 520 00:29:30,979 --> 00:29:33,774 Or not even too big to fail, that we can't let them fail. 521 00:29:33,857 --> 00:29:36,818 Because they are the backbone of our economy, right? 522 00:29:36,902 --> 00:29:38,820 Don't you think that's still a false choice? 523 00:29:38,904 --> 00:29:41,073 It's not about making them fail. 524 00:29:41,156 --> 00:29:43,784 It's about not allowing them to privatize profit 525 00:29:43,867 --> 00:29:45,285 -and socialize losses. -Exactly. 526 00:29:45,369 --> 00:29:50,290 You came around to the idea that government is responsible for this. 527 00:29:50,374 --> 00:29:53,836 And government isn't doing its job to rein in these corporations. 528 00:29:53,919 --> 00:29:56,505 Yeah. Regulation isn't the answer. 529 00:29:56,588 --> 00:29:58,799 Because they're outgunned. 530 00:29:58,882 --> 00:30:01,635 I don't wanna do a riff from Hamilton right now. 531 00:30:01,718 --> 00:30:03,929 Outgunned, outmanned 532 00:30:04,012 --> 00:30:06,181 Out-planned, out stand 533 00:30:06,265 --> 00:30:09,476 -Stop rolling. Cut. -Out-fanned, outmanned 534 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:11,228 -Out-sand -Yeah. Oh, boy. 535 00:30:11,311 --> 00:30:14,314 -You'll never stop trying to get into it. -This show just got canceled. 536 00:30:14,398 --> 00:30:16,024 Room where it happens 537 00:30:16,108 --> 00:30:18,735 -Everybody! Room where it happens -No. 538 00:30:18,819 --> 00:30:20,279 I'm a Jellicle cat 539 00:30:21,572 --> 00:30:23,490 I'm a Jellicle cat 540 00:30:25,492 --> 00:30:27,870 Thank you for taking time to talk to us. 541 00:30:27,953 --> 00:30:29,621 -Thank you-- -We really appreciate it. 542 00:30:29,705 --> 00:30:33,917 You know, they say that free-market capitalism 543 00:30:34,001 --> 00:30:36,670 is the best way 544 00:30:36,753 --> 00:30:41,133 to deliver prosperity and growth 545 00:30:41,216 --> 00:30:47,389 and the most efficient way to distribute that prosperity throughout a population. 546 00:30:47,472 --> 00:30:48,849 So, I guess my question is: 547 00:30:48,932 --> 00:30:53,520 When can we have a free-market capitalist system in this country? 548 00:30:53,604 --> 00:30:55,856 -Well, we do have a capitalist system… -What? 549 00:30:55,939 --> 00:30:58,025 -…in this country. -But not free market? 550 00:30:58,108 --> 00:31:01,069 -The government plays an important role. -Right. 551 00:31:01,153 --> 00:31:06,241 And it's really essential that government play its role 552 00:31:06,325 --> 00:31:12,080 in order to make a market economy efficient, well-functioning and fair. 553 00:31:12,164 --> 00:31:14,499 In our economy, when government intervenes, 554 00:31:14,583 --> 00:31:18,045 government intervenes on behalf of corporate interests 555 00:31:18,128 --> 00:31:23,217 in a much more robust way than they do for labor interests. 556 00:31:24,343 --> 00:31:29,348 I think in recent decades it is pretty much a fair assessment 557 00:31:29,431 --> 00:31:35,938 that many of the interventions have enhanced the power of corporations, 558 00:31:36,021 --> 00:31:41,985 and we've ignored the needs of individuals. 559 00:31:42,069 --> 00:31:46,782 And I think there are structural forces in US economy 560 00:31:46,865 --> 00:31:50,702 and a failure of policy to do the job 561 00:31:50,786 --> 00:31:53,121 -that Americans, I think… -Right. 562 00:31:53,205 --> 00:31:56,041 …should want government policy to do. 563 00:31:56,124 --> 00:31:58,669 The Fed-- and you were the chairman of the Fed-- 564 00:31:58,752 --> 00:32:02,673 they're charged with making sure that inflation doesn't get out of control, 565 00:32:02,756 --> 00:32:05,425 and that there's a certain stability in the employment market. 566 00:32:05,509 --> 00:32:09,805 Employment and price stability is the Fed's dual mandate. 567 00:32:09,888 --> 00:32:14,101 The Fed will step in when corporate policy fails. 568 00:32:14,184 --> 00:32:16,812 They'll backstop large corporations. 569 00:32:16,895 --> 00:32:19,273 Couldn't they also do that for workers? 570 00:32:19,982 --> 00:32:21,233 Well, look, 571 00:32:21,316 --> 00:32:27,322 corporations only have access to the Fed in very rare circumstances. 572 00:32:27,406 --> 00:32:30,284 And that is when we're faced with a financial crisis, 573 00:32:30,367 --> 00:32:32,953 as we were in 2008, 574 00:32:33,036 --> 00:32:36,164 and then again when the pandemic struck. 575 00:32:37,165 --> 00:32:43,839 The Fed has a responsibility to make sure that our financial system functions. 576 00:32:43,922 --> 00:32:46,258 -It's not right to say… -But do you see, then-- Right. 577 00:32:46,341 --> 00:32:51,096 …that the Fed is lending to corporations on a regular basis. 578 00:32:51,180 --> 00:32:53,223 -But… -Maybe that's the disconnect though. 579 00:32:53,307 --> 00:32:57,603 Because I think the 2008 crisis is a great example, you know. 580 00:32:58,187 --> 00:33:01,440 Instead of a big fire hose of money 581 00:33:01,523 --> 00:33:05,194 being turned on those mortgages that went underwater 582 00:33:05,277 --> 00:33:07,321 and brought them back to sea level, 583 00:33:08,238 --> 00:33:12,242 they chose to pour money into those bundles, 584 00:33:12,326 --> 00:33:14,411 and a lot of people lost their houses. 585 00:33:14,494 --> 00:33:19,833 People had every reason to feel unhappy about what happened. 586 00:33:19,917 --> 00:33:22,002 The purpose of intervening 587 00:33:22,085 --> 00:33:28,300 so that big financial institutions and markets didn't completely fail 588 00:33:28,383 --> 00:33:32,804 was to avoid a drying up of credit in the economy. 589 00:33:32,888 --> 00:33:38,018 If those financial institutions had been allowed to fail, 590 00:33:38,101 --> 00:33:44,608 the toll on ordinary families would have been not only bad, 591 00:33:44,691 --> 00:33:45,901 which it was, 592 00:33:45,984 --> 00:33:48,529 but unspeakably horrendous. 593 00:33:48,612 --> 00:33:52,282 We would've been looking at something like the Great Depression. 594 00:33:52,366 --> 00:33:56,745 I think, for people, they would view it as, 595 00:33:56,828 --> 00:34:00,999 "Well, if I'm gonna lose my house, that's a crisis." You know? 596 00:34:01,083 --> 00:34:03,377 "And I don't have a backstop." 597 00:34:03,961 --> 00:34:08,590 That's an important reason why, when the pandemic struck, 598 00:34:08,674 --> 00:34:14,929 President Biden and his administration have been focused 599 00:34:15,013 --> 00:34:18,016 on using fiscal policy, not the Fed 600 00:34:18,100 --> 00:34:22,603 to get help to all those who really need it. 601 00:34:22,688 --> 00:34:26,149 But corporate America gets all the benefits 602 00:34:26,233 --> 00:34:29,069 of American stability and fiscal policy 603 00:34:29,152 --> 00:34:31,237 but bears none of the responsibility. 604 00:34:31,321 --> 00:34:32,989 I'll give you an example. 605 00:34:33,072 --> 00:34:36,368 Walmart. They make billions in profits. 606 00:34:36,451 --> 00:34:41,331 Their workers are one of the largest corporate users 607 00:34:41,415 --> 00:34:43,458 of social service programs. 608 00:34:43,542 --> 00:34:46,587 Why don't Walmart workers share in the profits of Walmart? 609 00:34:47,295 --> 00:34:50,174 You know, in a capitalist system, 610 00:34:50,257 --> 00:34:55,804 companies have a right to distribute profits to their shareholders. 611 00:34:55,888 --> 00:34:58,182 They're not forced to. 612 00:34:58,265 --> 00:35:02,102 -There's nothing in the law forces them-- -But aren't we subsidizing-- 613 00:35:02,186 --> 00:35:03,854 This is the insidious part, I think, of-- 614 00:35:03,937 --> 00:35:06,982 When we talk about that we have a free-market system. 615 00:35:07,065 --> 00:35:09,193 Because what it makes it seem like 616 00:35:09,276 --> 00:35:15,157 is that the natural order of things is that Walmart makes billions in profits 617 00:35:15,240 --> 00:35:17,659 and can distribute it to its shareholders, 618 00:35:17,743 --> 00:35:18,994 and that's just how it goes. 619 00:35:19,077 --> 00:35:21,830 But we know that we, the taxpayers, 620 00:35:21,914 --> 00:35:26,293 are subsidizing their workforce with food stamps. 621 00:35:26,376 --> 00:35:30,172 They're getting the benefit of our tax dollars. 622 00:35:30,255 --> 00:35:32,257 So it's not free market. 623 00:35:32,341 --> 00:35:37,471 The government, in many cases, should be running programs. 624 00:35:37,554 --> 00:35:42,601 It's not necessarily the case that Walmart should do that directly. 625 00:35:42,684 --> 00:35:47,856 You don't feel they are responsible because they benefit from fiscal policy-- 626 00:35:47,940 --> 00:35:49,983 they benefit from the American infrastructure. 627 00:35:50,067 --> 00:35:52,486 They do benefit from fiscal policy. 628 00:35:52,569 --> 00:35:58,075 But I think the way-- an important way of making them pay is by taxing them 629 00:35:58,158 --> 00:36:03,247 and making sure that their profits provide the resources 630 00:36:03,330 --> 00:36:05,874 to provide that infrastructure. 631 00:36:05,958 --> 00:36:10,254 You would rather they still make their billions in profit, 632 00:36:10,337 --> 00:36:12,256 but as long as they pay us taxes 633 00:36:12,339 --> 00:36:17,052 so that we have enough to give their workers food stamps, that's okay? 634 00:36:17,135 --> 00:36:19,513 We also need to invest in their workers 635 00:36:19,596 --> 00:36:25,727 so that they can have jobs that will produce better pay, 636 00:36:25,811 --> 00:36:28,438 that they'll have the skills to be able to compete. 637 00:36:28,522 --> 00:36:33,151 But it feels like the system doesn't have accountability 638 00:36:33,235 --> 00:36:34,820 for those at the corporate level. 639 00:36:34,903 --> 00:36:37,197 -How do we build that into the system? -Well, I-- 640 00:36:37,281 --> 00:36:39,324 I think there's a lot of truth in what you're saying. 641 00:36:39,408 --> 00:36:43,620 And we're very focused on trying to make sure 642 00:36:43,704 --> 00:36:47,040 that companies are responsible 643 00:36:47,124 --> 00:36:49,543 and do pay their fair share. 644 00:36:49,626 --> 00:36:51,461 So corporate-- 645 00:36:51,545 --> 00:36:53,922 But we slashed the IRS budget. We have all-- 646 00:36:54,006 --> 00:36:56,300 We make accountability very difficult. 647 00:36:56,383 --> 00:36:57,843 We're trying to reverse that. 648 00:36:57,926 --> 00:37:04,558 We're proposing a substantial increase in resources for the IRS 649 00:37:04,641 --> 00:37:07,186 so they can go after tax evasion. 650 00:37:07,269 --> 00:37:08,896 I want to tell you about another thing… 651 00:37:08,979 --> 00:37:10,314 -Yeah. -…that's important here. 652 00:37:10,397 --> 00:37:14,818 All over the world, countries have been competing with one another 653 00:37:14,902 --> 00:37:18,614 to attract these companies by cutting corporate tax rates. 654 00:37:18,697 --> 00:37:21,283 -Right. -Every country faces this, 655 00:37:21,366 --> 00:37:24,870 of companies having power and saying to governments, 656 00:37:24,953 --> 00:37:27,956 "Cut our tax rates, or we're gonna go someplace else." 657 00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:32,169 Is the problem here that corporations feel like they have this country over a barrel? 658 00:37:32,252 --> 00:37:36,298 We have a system where political contributions are important 659 00:37:36,381 --> 00:37:41,220 and where wealthy corporations and individuals 660 00:37:41,303 --> 00:37:44,640 use the power of… 661 00:37:44,723 --> 00:37:49,394 -Access. -…of access to skew the playing field. 662 00:37:49,478 --> 00:37:53,774 But the Biden administration has a different view. 663 00:37:53,857 --> 00:38:00,280 And we wanna make sure that companies behave fairly, 664 00:38:00,364 --> 00:38:02,491 that they pay their fair share. 665 00:38:02,574 --> 00:38:05,869 And we make the investments in people and communities 666 00:38:05,953 --> 00:38:08,205 -that are necessary to reverse this. -Who fights you on this? 667 00:38:08,288 --> 00:38:09,998 When you bring this up, 668 00:38:10,082 --> 00:38:12,626 or when you try and change fiscal policy in that way, 669 00:38:13,794 --> 00:38:15,003 where's the fight from? 670 00:38:15,087 --> 00:38:16,421 What are the headwinds? 671 00:38:16,505 --> 00:38:18,465 Why is it difficult to push through? 672 00:38:19,633 --> 00:38:21,635 -The headwinds come-- -And I'd like some names. 673 00:38:21,718 --> 00:38:22,719 Let me get a pen. 674 00:38:22,803 --> 00:38:24,888 You know, the-- 675 00:38:24,972 --> 00:38:27,266 People don't like to have their taxes increased. 676 00:38:27,349 --> 00:38:32,604 And, you know, we need to raise more tax revenue 677 00:38:32,688 --> 00:38:37,317 in order to finance the investments that our economy needs 678 00:38:37,401 --> 00:38:39,778 to be productive and for families to do well. 679 00:38:39,862 --> 00:38:45,993 Isn't entrenched poverty in this country an urgent enough situation… 680 00:38:46,076 --> 00:38:49,413 -It is. -…that if the Fed will intervene 681 00:38:49,496 --> 00:38:51,915 on behalf of a cataclysm, 682 00:38:51,999 --> 00:38:57,921 shouldn't perpetual poverty be another urgent example 683 00:38:58,005 --> 00:39:01,758 of a catastrophe that needs to be ameliorated? 684 00:39:01,842 --> 00:39:04,469 We need to raise the minimum wage. 685 00:39:04,553 --> 00:39:06,889 Congress has refused to act on it. 686 00:39:06,972 --> 00:39:12,186 That's something that Congress needs to do to protect workers. 687 00:39:12,269 --> 00:39:13,896 There's a lot that needs to be-- 688 00:39:13,979 --> 00:39:18,483 President Biden has set out a Build Back Better Agenda. 689 00:39:19,193 --> 00:39:21,445 -I don't like slogans. -And it has-- 690 00:39:21,528 --> 00:39:24,072 Well, I think Build Back Better is a good slogan. And-- 691 00:39:24,156 --> 00:39:27,367 It's alliteration. I'll give you alliteration. But I'm not crazy about it. 692 00:39:27,451 --> 00:39:31,622 I like it because it says that there's something wrong 693 00:39:31,705 --> 00:39:35,751 with the way our economy has been working that we need to change. 694 00:39:35,834 --> 00:39:41,298 What we have is a society that's grown increasingly unequal, 695 00:39:41,381 --> 00:39:43,675 with huge inequality. 696 00:39:43,759 --> 00:39:50,474 And it perpetuates itself over time in ways that are really insidious. 697 00:39:50,557 --> 00:39:53,268 You know, there's a lot we can do. 698 00:39:53,352 --> 00:39:56,438 And we have an agenda. We know what to do. 699 00:39:57,689 --> 00:39:59,858 Secretary, thank you so much. 700 00:39:59,942 --> 00:40:02,819 -Thank you. Much appreciated. -Much appreciated. Thank you so much. 701 00:40:03,695 --> 00:40:06,823 I had this whole thing worked up in my mind about the stock market, 702 00:40:06,907 --> 00:40:10,035 and how the Fed has been artificially inflating stock prices, 703 00:40:10,118 --> 00:40:13,121 and, "Doesn't that point to another intervention on behalf of corporations?" 704 00:40:13,205 --> 00:40:16,625 The way I'd gamed it out, the conversation would've ended with, 705 00:40:16,708 --> 00:40:18,669 "Sir, I yield." 706 00:40:19,628 --> 00:40:22,756 "I yield to thee. You have vanquished"-- 707 00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:24,633 And then she would fall over… 708 00:40:26,260 --> 00:40:27,970 and turn into a handkerchief. 709 00:40:29,555 --> 00:40:32,724 The stock market is really owned by a very small group of people 710 00:40:32,808 --> 00:40:33,809 at the end of the day. 711 00:40:33,892 --> 00:40:37,896 The top 10% wealthiest families own 84% of overall equities. 712 00:40:37,980 --> 00:40:40,649 -84% of the stock market. -Right. 713 00:40:40,732 --> 00:40:46,363 It's been drilled into all of us now that the stock market is the economy. 714 00:40:46,446 --> 00:40:48,824 And even for me, as a dude who owns zero stocks, 715 00:40:48,907 --> 00:40:51,159 every time I see the stock market's up, I'm like, "Thank God." 716 00:40:51,243 --> 00:40:52,494 Yeah. "We're okay." 717 00:40:52,578 --> 00:40:55,163 "We're all doing good today. Today's a good day." 718 00:40:55,247 --> 00:40:59,126 Solution is, we lose the stock ticker, and we create a ticker of just people. 719 00:40:59,710 --> 00:41:03,714 We follow the fortunes of workers on the ticker on CNBC. 720 00:41:03,797 --> 00:41:05,090 Just-- Boom! 721 00:41:05,174 --> 00:41:08,510 And then, on the-- Listen, not all the ideas are gonna be gems. 722 00:41:12,598 --> 00:41:13,849 Hello again! 723 00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:18,437 Please support the efforts of tonight's guests. 724 00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:20,939 We will be following their work on the show's podcast. 725 00:41:21,023 --> 00:41:22,900 We have a podcast, 726 00:41:22,983 --> 00:41:26,069 which I have to say is just neck and neck with music in my eyes. 727 00:41:26,153 --> 00:41:27,154 Just-- Really. 728 00:41:27,237 --> 00:41:30,741 Podcast, music. What do I listen to today? 729 00:41:32,034 --> 00:41:35,829 By the way, if you're wondering what a CNBC screen would look like 730 00:41:35,913 --> 00:41:40,083 if it actually reflected the important metrics of the economy… 731 00:41:40,167 --> 00:41:41,668 Ta-da. 732 00:41:41,752 --> 00:41:44,630 There we go. Purchasing power, 733 00:41:44,713 --> 00:41:47,382 median wage, investing in work-- 734 00:41:47,466 --> 00:41:51,470 Hey, look at that. Vanessa is up 1.4 points. 735 00:41:53,347 --> 00:41:55,557 She just got a vendor's license for a food truck. 736 00:41:55,641 --> 00:41:58,519 It's plant-based CBD barbecue fusion. 737 00:42:00,646 --> 00:42:02,814 It's a little bit of a risk. But we'll see. 738 00:42:03,982 --> 00:42:06,568 That's all for tonight. Please join us next time. Thank you. 739 00:42:08,487 --> 00:42:09,488 That's it!