1 00:00:03,338 --> 00:00:05,423 Your pen flipping is superb, by the way. 2 00:00:05,507 --> 00:00:07,801 -I've been doing it for years. -Yeah. 3 00:00:07,884 --> 00:00:09,678 -Hey! -Wow. Impressive. 4 00:00:09,761 --> 00:00:11,805 I was watching him do it, like, "That's impressive." 5 00:00:13,139 --> 00:00:14,891 In the 2008 crisis, 6 00:00:14,975 --> 00:00:18,645 I remember government jumps in and bail out the mortgage derivative company. 7 00:00:18,728 --> 00:00:19,980 And it's billions of dollars. 8 00:00:20,063 --> 00:00:23,525 And the mortgages that had gone underwater, 9 00:00:23,608 --> 00:00:25,735 well, those people were all gonna lose their houses. 10 00:00:26,570 --> 00:00:28,697 And the Secretary of the Treasury, Tim Geithner, 11 00:00:28,780 --> 00:00:34,452 said we couldn't bail out the homeowners in the way that we bailed out the banks. 12 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:36,204 And I said, "Why not?" 13 00:00:36,288 --> 00:00:38,498 And he said, "Moral hazard." 14 00:00:39,124 --> 00:00:42,210 You would be rewarding those, 15 00:00:42,294 --> 00:00:46,089 through their own fault, their mortgages went south. 16 00:00:47,173 --> 00:00:51,428 So you gave billions of dollars to the people 17 00:00:51,511 --> 00:00:57,142 whose shitty bets nearly imploded the world economy. 18 00:00:57,225 --> 00:00:59,394 How is that not "moral hazard"? 19 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:03,106 [chuckles] And I'll never forget, he said… 20 00:01:04,190 --> 00:01:07,068 "We had to land the plane. The plane was on fire"… 21 00:01:07,152 --> 00:01:09,070 -That's right. -…"and we had to land it." 22 00:01:09,154 --> 00:01:12,324 In that moment, I was like, "Oh, my God. And you're the Democrat." 23 00:01:12,407 --> 00:01:15,285 [all laughing] 24 00:01:15,368 --> 00:01:16,411 Oh, my God! 25 00:01:51,613 --> 00:01:53,615 -[audience cheering, applauding] -Hey! Good evening. 26 00:01:54,783 --> 00:01:55,951 Good evening. 27 00:01:56,034 --> 00:01:59,287 That is tremendous stamina on your part. 28 00:01:59,371 --> 00:02:01,790 That was-- Had to be a minute and a half of applause, 29 00:01:59,371 --> 00:02:01,790 That had to be a minute and a half of applause, 30 00:02:01,873 --> 00:02:04,376 like, "Can we just put our hands down?" 31 00:02:05,835 --> 00:02:07,128 Good evening and welcome. 32 00:02:07,629 --> 00:02:12,217 As you know, our country continues to emerge from the recent pandemic. 33 00:02:12,300 --> 00:02:15,804 And then, of course, plunge back into it, and then re-emerge, and then… 34 00:02:16,513 --> 00:02:17,806 It's emotionally a lot. 35 00:02:18,515 --> 00:02:24,604 During this time, we learned it was the essential workers who kept us afloat. 36 00:02:24,688 --> 00:02:26,690 Wall Street didn't build this country. 37 00:02:26,773 --> 00:02:28,400 The middle class built the country. 38 00:02:28,483 --> 00:02:32,404 …the people who built this country from the ground up. The workers. 39 00:02:32,487 --> 00:02:34,406 I love our blue-collar workers. 40 00:02:34,489 --> 00:02:37,659 I consider myself, in a certain way, to be a blue collar worker. 41 00:02:37,742 --> 00:02:41,204 …taxi cab drivers and cops and firefighters 42 00:02:41,288 --> 00:02:42,914 and waiters and waitresses 43 00:02:42,998 --> 00:02:45,083 and the men and women with calluses on their hands… 44 00:02:45,166 --> 00:02:48,128 …working man with calluses on his hands… 45 00:02:48,211 --> 00:02:50,171 …men and women with calluses on their hands… 46 00:02:50,255 --> 00:02:52,465 …men and women with calluses on their hands… 47 00:02:52,549 --> 00:02:54,092 …calluses on their hands… 48 00:02:54,175 --> 00:02:57,596 …whose hands are thick with calluses. 49 00:02:57,679 --> 00:03:01,850 It's the official truck of callused hands and elbow grease. 50 00:03:01,933 --> 00:03:06,229 Praise the workers. Praise the work. 51 00:03:10,233 --> 00:03:11,985 Yes, by all means, praise the worker. 52 00:03:12,068 --> 00:03:15,113 But for God's sakes, will no one give them hand lotion? 53 00:03:17,032 --> 00:03:19,492 Their mitts are like sandpaper. 54 00:03:19,576 --> 00:03:21,161 Give 'em some lotion. 55 00:03:23,246 --> 00:03:27,542 We love and respect the hardworking people of this country, 56 00:03:27,626 --> 00:03:32,923 although I'm pretty sure they don't always feel the love. 57 00:03:33,006 --> 00:03:35,008 First of all, my age. I'm going to, you know-- 58 00:03:35,091 --> 00:03:37,552 I need health care for a surgery if it comes up. 59 00:03:37,636 --> 00:03:39,429 I need assistance to pay my rent. 60 00:03:39,512 --> 00:03:43,558 After twenty-five and a half years, I make $8.99 an hour. 61 00:03:43,642 --> 00:03:47,395 The student loans will probably delay me ever buying a house with my fiancé. 62 00:03:47,479 --> 00:03:50,398 I dropped out of college. I had to. I couldn't afford it. 63 00:03:50,482 --> 00:03:51,650 My mother couldn't afford it. 64 00:03:51,733 --> 00:03:53,151 I don't get paid maternity leave. 65 00:03:53,235 --> 00:03:54,611 I work seven days a week. 66 00:03:54,694 --> 00:03:56,821 I can't afford to retire because of health care. 67 00:03:56,905 --> 00:03:59,866 I need childcare like I need my next breath. 68 00:03:59,950 --> 00:04:02,035 I have two degrees. 69 00:04:02,118 --> 00:04:04,829 I have student loans and bachelor's degrees 70 00:04:04,913 --> 00:04:06,665 and 14 years' experience. 71 00:04:06,748 --> 00:04:08,583 I should not have to come ask for food. 72 00:04:08,667 --> 00:04:10,293 I'm living paycheck to paycheck. 73 00:04:10,377 --> 00:04:13,004 If I live in a country that says it's number one, 74 00:04:13,588 --> 00:04:15,966 why do I feel like, you know, I'm at the bottom of the barrel? 75 00:04:16,048 --> 00:04:19,469 It turns out that hardworking Americans aren't doing that great. 76 00:04:20,595 --> 00:04:22,472 Anybody know what might help them? 77 00:04:22,556 --> 00:04:25,392 …single-payer health care, government paid childcare… 78 00:04:25,475 --> 00:04:27,352 -…free college… -…government healthy food… 79 00:04:27,435 --> 00:04:31,106 …early education, child education, universal childcare… 80 00:04:31,189 --> 00:04:35,151 …guaranteed job for everyone, with a family-sustaining wage, 81 00:04:35,235 --> 00:04:39,489 adequate family and medical leave, paid vacations and retirement security. 82 00:04:40,198 --> 00:04:44,119 You guys are dead-on-- I-- Man. That is totally unexpected. 83 00:04:44,202 --> 00:04:45,829 But you all are dead-on right. 84 00:04:45,912 --> 00:04:49,457 That is exactly what we need to do in this country. 85 00:04:49,541 --> 00:04:51,418 But I-- I sensed a tone in your voice. 86 00:04:51,501 --> 00:04:54,129 Why-- Why aren't we doing those things? 87 00:04:54,212 --> 00:04:56,798 If that's not socialism, I'm not sure what is. 88 00:04:56,882 --> 00:04:59,009 …every socialist wish list item. 89 00:04:59,092 --> 00:05:01,303 …socialist and globalist wish list… 90 00:05:01,386 --> 00:05:02,512 …socialist fantasy… 91 00:05:02,596 --> 00:05:03,930 Paradise for all… 92 00:05:05,348 --> 00:05:06,349 Right! 93 00:05:06,433 --> 00:05:08,435 [audience laughing] 94 00:05:09,728 --> 00:05:10,896 So there it is. 95 00:05:11,563 --> 00:05:16,526 We cannot give our hardworking, leather-handed heroes… 96 00:05:16,610 --> 00:05:20,864 -[audience laughs] -…their basic needs because that's… 97 00:05:23,617 --> 00:05:24,659 [whispers] …socialism. 98 00:05:24,743 --> 00:05:26,244 [thunder rumbling] 99 00:05:29,414 --> 00:05:30,749 [audience applauding] 100 00:05:30,832 --> 00:05:36,254 And thus… the problem with the economy. 101 00:05:36,922 --> 00:05:40,258 Now, if you've ever listened to AM radio in your uncle's van, 102 00:05:41,259 --> 00:05:45,639 you know: Socialism not good. 103 00:05:45,722 --> 00:05:48,934 The moment America becomes a socialist country 104 00:05:49,017 --> 00:05:53,021 is the moment that America ceases to be America. 105 00:05:53,104 --> 00:05:55,190 The United Socialist States of America… 106 00:05:55,273 --> 00:05:59,778 …job-killing, soul-crushing, socialist agenda. 107 00:05:59,861 --> 00:06:01,655 I mean, hello, Venezuela. 108 00:06:01,738 --> 00:06:04,532 They wanna take your pickup truck… 109 00:06:04,616 --> 00:06:05,784 They want your money, 110 00:06:05,867 --> 00:06:07,953 and if you won't give it to 'em, they'll take it. 111 00:06:08,036 --> 00:06:09,829 …they wanna rebuild your home… 112 00:06:09,913 --> 00:06:12,207 Socialism destroys. Socialism kills. 113 00:06:12,290 --> 00:06:13,625 People really die. 114 00:06:13,708 --> 00:06:15,335 -It's despair… -…destruction… 115 00:06:15,418 --> 00:06:16,878 -…it's starvation… -…poverty… 116 00:06:16,962 --> 00:06:18,338 -…squalor… -…chaos… 117 00:06:18,421 --> 00:06:19,965 [all] Death. 118 00:06:20,048 --> 00:06:22,092 …they wanna take away your hamburgers… 119 00:06:22,175 --> 00:06:23,843 [audience laughing] 120 00:06:28,390 --> 00:06:29,516 Death! 121 00:06:30,183 --> 00:06:31,351 Despair! 122 00:06:32,852 --> 00:06:34,104 The Hamburglar! 123 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:40,485 And, you know, they're being so descriptive, 124 00:06:40,569 --> 00:06:44,072 but I just-- I just wish I had some kind of visual metaphor 125 00:06:44,155 --> 00:06:45,198 for what they mean. 126 00:06:51,121 --> 00:06:55,667 Takes a brave and adept hunter to bring down a giant, stationary placard. 127 00:06:58,670 --> 00:07:01,172 So we know that socialism is evil. 128 00:07:02,048 --> 00:07:05,385 But if you would indulge me for just a moment, 129 00:07:05,468 --> 00:07:07,679 wh-- why is it evil again? 130 00:07:07,762 --> 00:07:10,348 Is socialism a fair system? 131 00:07:10,432 --> 00:07:11,600 -Oh, not at all. -[scoffs] 132 00:07:11,683 --> 00:07:14,144 Because what does socialism do? 133 00:07:14,227 --> 00:07:19,316 It allows the government to choose winners and losers. 134 00:07:19,399 --> 00:07:24,446 And that is one of the things that we as conservatives fight against. 135 00:07:24,529 --> 00:07:26,823 We want a level playing field. 136 00:07:27,908 --> 00:07:32,078 First of all, your blazer has magnificent buttons. 137 00:07:32,162 --> 00:07:33,663 [audience laughing] 138 00:07:40,879 --> 00:07:43,131 I'm-- I'm quite superficial, I hope you-- 139 00:07:44,841 --> 00:07:46,635 So, socialism is bad 140 00:07:47,260 --> 00:07:52,098 because it's the government picking the winners and losers. 141 00:07:52,933 --> 00:07:54,392 And there's nothing worse than that. 142 00:07:54,476 --> 00:07:58,271 Not spiders with wings, not grandma titty punching. 143 00:07:58,355 --> 00:08:00,482 There's nothing worse. 144 00:08:02,567 --> 00:08:05,820 Basically saying, "If you're a loser, it's your fault. 145 00:08:05,904 --> 00:08:08,406 And government stepping in is socialism. 146 00:08:08,490 --> 00:08:11,076 Get your shit together, 147 00:08:11,159 --> 00:08:16,373 and keep Uncle Sam's sweet teats out of your dirty fucking loser mouth." 148 00:08:16,456 --> 00:08:19,751 Uncle Sam wants you to leave these bad boys alone. 149 00:08:23,004 --> 00:08:25,840 There's only one-- There's only one problem with this. 150 00:08:27,175 --> 00:08:32,179 And that is, government picks winners and losers all the time. 151 00:08:32,681 --> 00:08:36,726 The White House gives an early Christmas present to Detroit's automakers, 152 00:08:36,810 --> 00:08:38,562 a $17 billion loan. 153 00:08:38,645 --> 00:08:42,315 The airline industry has gotten a $50 billion lifeline. 154 00:08:42,399 --> 00:08:45,485 …$23 million incentive package for Amazon. 155 00:08:45,569 --> 00:08:48,488 JPMorgan Chase got $25 billion. 156 00:08:48,572 --> 00:08:50,282 Chrysler got some seven billion dollars. 157 00:08:50,365 --> 00:08:55,287 $700 billion of your taxpayer money to Wall Street big banks. 158 00:08:55,370 --> 00:09:00,208 The tuna company StarKist plus gets a $62 million tax credit. 159 00:09:00,292 --> 00:09:03,336 Wisconsin is giving Foxconn three billion dollars. 160 00:09:03,420 --> 00:09:07,716 The state offered more than $845 million 161 00:09:07,799 --> 00:09:10,302 for Apple to build right where I'm standing right now. 162 00:09:10,385 --> 00:09:12,387 I thought we cut that clip. 163 00:09:12,470 --> 00:09:15,098 I thought-- I thought the Apple clip got cut. 164 00:09:15,181 --> 00:09:16,182 I don't-- 165 00:09:17,017 --> 00:09:19,102 That's not-- That's-- That's-- 166 00:09:19,185 --> 00:09:21,605 And the last one was very fair. 167 00:09:26,192 --> 00:09:27,235 All of it is-- 168 00:09:33,033 --> 00:09:34,159 I'll see myself out. 169 00:09:36,995 --> 00:09:42,375 So it turns out that the government is picking winners and losers. 170 00:09:42,459 --> 00:09:45,212 It's just picking corporations to be the winners. 171 00:09:46,087 --> 00:09:47,088 Man, I would imagine 172 00:09:47,172 --> 00:09:52,928 that good free-market capitalists hate this type of socialist intervention. 173 00:09:53,470 --> 00:09:57,599 Let's be clear. The auto bailout saved 1.5 million jobs. 174 00:09:57,682 --> 00:10:00,727 When we figure out who to triage, we must save Boeing. 175 00:10:00,810 --> 00:10:03,104 Stabilizing the banks was essential. 176 00:10:03,188 --> 00:10:06,316 We incentivized Amazon to come, 177 00:10:06,399 --> 00:10:10,153 as we incentivize every big business to come. 178 00:10:10,237 --> 00:10:14,407 Ten billion is a small price to pay for saving a company of that magnitude. 179 00:10:26,670 --> 00:10:31,716 So apparently government picking winners and losers in this case is great. 180 00:10:32,676 --> 00:10:34,803 Not only does the government pick winners and losers, 181 00:10:34,886 --> 00:10:36,012 but with these bailouts, 182 00:10:36,096 --> 00:10:40,267 they're apparently picking losers and turning them into winners. 183 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:43,395 Just out of curiosity, 184 00:10:43,478 --> 00:10:46,815 what would you say if we bailed out a person? 185 00:10:46,898 --> 00:10:52,112 Making being poor more comfortable has only helped people to stay poor. 186 00:10:52,195 --> 00:10:53,905 They started sending checks to people, 187 00:10:53,989 --> 00:10:57,492 getting them a little bit more reliant on government, more reliant on government. 188 00:10:57,576 --> 00:11:00,161 And now they're full-blown incentivizing laziness. 189 00:11:00,245 --> 00:11:03,623 Because why work hard when the government is gonna cut you a check? 190 00:11:03,707 --> 00:11:06,668 The welfare state has incentivized women to marry the government 191 00:11:06,751 --> 00:11:09,421 and allowed men to abandon their financial and moral responsibility. 192 00:11:09,504 --> 00:11:11,339 "Women are marrying governments!" 193 00:11:11,923 --> 00:11:14,551 Is that really any worse than marrying men? 194 00:11:14,634 --> 00:11:15,635 Probably not. 195 00:11:17,095 --> 00:11:19,556 I mean, to be honest… 196 00:11:22,058 --> 00:11:24,144 are we that much of a bargain? No. 197 00:11:25,020 --> 00:11:27,814 And by the way, it is 2021… 198 00:11:27,898 --> 00:11:30,191 I believe it's time men can also marry governments. 199 00:11:30,275 --> 00:11:31,484 I think that's something-- 200 00:11:35,530 --> 00:11:37,616 That's a woke crowd, right there. 201 00:11:41,995 --> 00:11:48,168 The federal government intervenes all the time in favor of corporations, 202 00:11:48,251 --> 00:11:50,170 be it through lowering corporate tax rates, 203 00:11:50,253 --> 00:11:54,883 deregulating certain industries, industry subsidies, bailouts… 204 00:11:54,966 --> 00:11:57,969 And I assume, since a lot of that comes from the taxpayers, 205 00:11:58,053 --> 00:12:01,348 we at least get some say in what they do with the money. 206 00:12:01,848 --> 00:12:05,518 I certainly don't want the government trying to direct companies 207 00:12:05,602 --> 00:12:07,520 to put their capital in this place or that place. 208 00:12:07,604 --> 00:12:10,357 The federal government should not be in the business 209 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:12,567 of specifying executive compensation. 210 00:12:12,651 --> 00:12:15,654 I really just don't think it's the job of the government 211 00:12:15,737 --> 00:12:18,865 to decide how companies should spend their money. 212 00:12:18,949 --> 00:12:21,868 Let companies decide how they want to spend their money. 213 00:12:21,952 --> 00:12:25,038 Don't interfere with private businesses. Let them make their decisions. 214 00:12:25,121 --> 00:12:27,249 Government should have zero role 215 00:12:27,332 --> 00:12:32,128 in determining, in influencing, in mandating any type of CEO compensation. 216 00:12:32,212 --> 00:12:33,630 These are private companies. 217 00:12:33,713 --> 00:12:37,217 Yeah, it's interesting, because when we bail out people, 218 00:12:37,300 --> 00:12:39,427 we got nothing but say. 219 00:12:39,511 --> 00:12:43,139 For instance, with food stamps, they cannot buy diapers, 220 00:12:43,223 --> 00:12:47,519 cleaning supplies, vitamins or hot food. 221 00:12:47,602 --> 00:12:48,812 Hot food. 222 00:12:49,604 --> 00:12:51,314 Corporations can use bailout money 223 00:12:51,398 --> 00:12:53,775 to pay their already wealthy CEOs if they feel like it. 224 00:12:53,858 --> 00:12:56,611 But God forbid a poor person finds their way 225 00:12:56,695 --> 00:12:59,322 to a salad bar's heat-lamp pot roast. 226 00:12:59,406 --> 00:13:00,991 "No, no, no! 227 00:13:01,658 --> 00:13:07,205 Only the rich get to suckle the nectar of premade meatball subs." 228 00:13:10,959 --> 00:13:14,129 "That is the domain of the aristocracy." 229 00:13:19,009 --> 00:13:21,094 When corporations fail, you pay for it. 230 00:13:21,803 --> 00:13:23,763 But when they succeed, it's theirs. 231 00:13:23,847 --> 00:13:26,933 They socialize their losses and privatize their gains. 232 00:13:27,517 --> 00:13:29,060 Why do we allow that? 233 00:13:29,144 --> 00:13:30,395 Consider this: 234 00:13:30,478 --> 00:13:33,565 Wealthy people do not stash their billions 235 00:13:33,648 --> 00:13:36,526 in safe deposit boxes loaded with $100 bills. 236 00:13:36,610 --> 00:13:39,404 They don't do that, and they don't spend it all at the mall. 237 00:13:39,487 --> 00:13:41,197 They don't spend like crazy. 238 00:13:41,281 --> 00:13:43,617 No, wealthy people invest. 239 00:13:43,700 --> 00:13:46,578 It is investment that creates jobs and economic growth. 240 00:13:47,329 --> 00:13:49,289 See, this is the lie they tell you, 241 00:13:49,372 --> 00:13:51,875 that all this money flowing towards corporate, moneyed interests 242 00:13:51,958 --> 00:13:54,461 is actually for your benefit. 243 00:13:54,544 --> 00:13:57,923 That government intervention for corporations is our free market, 244 00:13:58,715 --> 00:14:02,344 but government intervention for workers is socialism. 245 00:14:03,011 --> 00:14:05,388 And that's the reason for the socialism scaremongering. 246 00:14:05,472 --> 00:14:10,018 It's a false choice to make you believe that this country has but two options: 247 00:14:10,602 --> 00:14:16,566 a socialist, authoritarian… hamburgerless, Venezuelan nightmare, 248 00:14:17,817 --> 00:14:19,736 or accept the status quo, 249 00:14:19,819 --> 00:14:22,239 where large corporations benefit from government help, 250 00:14:22,322 --> 00:14:25,200 then use some of those profits to lobby the same government 251 00:14:25,283 --> 00:14:27,035 for more government help. 252 00:14:27,118 --> 00:14:29,162 They want you to believe that in a free market, 253 00:14:29,246 --> 00:14:34,084 while your wages stay low, someday, the largesse will eventually trickle down. 254 00:14:34,876 --> 00:14:35,961 And in the meantime, 255 00:14:36,044 --> 00:14:39,172 enjoy watching your tax dollars help billionaires 256 00:14:39,256 --> 00:14:41,758 launch themselves into fucking space. 257 00:14:42,425 --> 00:14:43,426 We'll be right back. 258 00:14:43,510 --> 00:14:46,638 [audience cheering, applauding] 259 00:14:52,060 --> 00:14:54,354 [man] America needs inspiration. 260 00:14:55,981 --> 00:14:58,358 -[man 2] Mr. Bezos. -[woman] Mr. Bezos? A question. 261 00:14:58,441 --> 00:15:00,277 -[shutters clicking] -A vision for the future. 262 00:14:58,441 --> 00:15:00,277 A vision for the future. 263 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,321 A reminder of what one man can do. 264 00:15:07,742 --> 00:15:10,328 I'm going to ride a rocket into space. 265 00:15:11,663 --> 00:15:14,666 And it's going to look just like my dick. 266 00:15:16,376 --> 00:15:19,754 We've been there before. Many times, okay? Men, women. 267 00:15:19,838 --> 00:15:24,301 Do you know, in 1961, we sent a chimpanzee into space? 268 00:15:24,384 --> 00:15:27,095 But not in a dick that looks like my dick. 269 00:15:30,056 --> 00:15:33,727 Billionaire Elon Musk joins the race into space. 270 00:15:36,479 --> 00:15:40,025 I too will be riding my big, old dick into space. 271 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:51,036 People see things the way they are and ask, "Why?" 272 00:15:51,119 --> 00:15:53,496 I see things the way they could be, and ask-- 273 00:15:53,580 --> 00:15:57,208 I'm sorry, could we maybe get the curve 274 00:15:57,959 --> 00:16:00,629 to go midway up the shaft of the space dick? 275 00:16:02,964 --> 00:16:04,674 Not enough! Not short enough. 276 00:16:05,300 --> 00:16:08,011 Not wide enough. Not enough! 277 00:16:09,137 --> 00:16:11,890 You know who else had a chode? Galileo. 278 00:16:14,517 --> 00:16:18,313 You know aerodynamics? A rocket takes off into the sky. 279 00:16:25,028 --> 00:16:26,238 I am a hero. 280 00:16:26,321 --> 00:16:27,822 I am a conqueror. 281 00:16:27,906 --> 00:16:29,449 I am a god. 282 00:16:30,033 --> 00:16:34,329 You own a e-bookstore and a whole grip of Whole Foods. 283 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,253 One small step for mankind. 284 00:16:41,962 --> 00:16:45,131 One giant leap for me, personally. 285 00:16:59,854 --> 00:17:02,607 Oh, so good of you to join us, Bezos. 286 00:17:02,691 --> 00:17:03,942 Us? 287 00:17:06,611 --> 00:17:09,322 Zuckerberg, is that you? 288 00:17:10,239 --> 00:17:12,742 You don't have enough sunscreen to be up here, Zuckerberg. 289 00:17:13,994 --> 00:17:16,412 Technically, I got here first. 290 00:17:24,212 --> 00:17:25,213 Chode. 291 00:17:58,663 --> 00:18:01,583 We have this commitment to the American dream, 292 00:18:01,666 --> 00:18:03,501 or this "bootstraps" myth. You know? 293 00:18:03,585 --> 00:18:07,589 Like, "If you're American, you work hard, and you need to earn your keep." 294 00:18:07,672 --> 00:18:10,592 But otherwise it's a handout when everyone else gets a handout. 295 00:18:10,675 --> 00:18:12,260 You had a great stat. Something like: 296 00:18:12,344 --> 00:18:15,096 For every dollar that they put into… 297 00:18:15,180 --> 00:18:17,098 Yeah, it's that you don't get a dollar back. 298 00:18:17,182 --> 00:18:20,477 When you give corporations money, via subsidies, tax rate, 299 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:23,146 you tend to not get your dollar back, as a government. 300 00:18:23,230 --> 00:18:24,898 In fact, research shows 301 00:18:24,981 --> 00:18:27,567 that the best investment the government makes is children. 302 00:18:27,651 --> 00:18:30,070 We should probably explain: Susan knows everything. 303 00:18:30,153 --> 00:18:31,905 'Cause the audience hasn't seen… 304 00:18:32,864 --> 00:18:36,034 I was taught that if you worked hard… 305 00:18:37,327 --> 00:18:40,413 that you would be able to live a decent life. 306 00:18:40,497 --> 00:18:42,249 That doesn't work anymore. 307 00:18:42,999 --> 00:18:46,878 You can break your back, sweating blood… 308 00:18:47,671 --> 00:18:51,800 the only people who are making up from our hard work 309 00:18:51,883 --> 00:18:54,970 are our CEOs, our shareholders. 310 00:18:55,053 --> 00:18:59,474 We have been investing in making life easier and more comfortable 311 00:18:59,558 --> 00:19:01,893 for corporations for a very long time. 312 00:19:01,977 --> 00:19:05,355 We're still really afraid of making, like, 313 00:19:05,438 --> 00:19:10,193 corporations, and people at the top of the wealth bracket, unhappy. 314 00:19:10,277 --> 00:19:12,946 But we've just seen inequality growing. 315 00:19:13,029 --> 00:19:14,739 It's only grown more and more. 316 00:19:14,823 --> 00:19:16,116 Wages have stagnated. 317 00:19:16,199 --> 00:19:21,079 I have two jobs and a bachelor's degree and I struggle to make ends meet. 318 00:19:21,913 --> 00:19:24,416 The federal poverty guidelines say that I'm not poor, 319 00:19:24,499 --> 00:19:26,751 but I cashed in a jar full of change the other night 320 00:19:26,835 --> 00:19:29,337 so my daughter could attend a high school band competition 321 00:19:29,421 --> 00:19:30,714 with her band. 322 00:19:31,506 --> 00:19:33,967 I can't go grocery shopping without a calculator. 323 00:19:34,593 --> 00:19:38,388 I had to decide which bills not to pay to be here in this room today. 324 00:19:39,014 --> 00:19:42,309 Believe me, I pulled myself up by the bootstraps so many damn times 325 00:19:42,392 --> 00:19:43,852 that I've ripped 'em off. 326 00:19:48,356 --> 00:19:51,568 So now let's talk a little bit about… 327 00:19:51,651 --> 00:19:52,944 Let's talk a little bit about 328 00:19:53,028 --> 00:19:57,866 why the workers we profess to love so much are getting left behind. 329 00:19:57,949 --> 00:19:59,784 First, we have Magaly Licolli, 330 00:19:59,868 --> 00:20:02,871 cofounder of Venceremos, a nonprofit community center 331 00:20:02,954 --> 00:20:06,249 that organizes poultry plant workers in Arkansas. 332 00:20:06,333 --> 00:20:08,001 We've got Amy Jo Hutchison. 333 00:20:08,084 --> 00:20:10,712 She's an organizer and advocate for low-wage and impoverished workers 334 00:20:10,795 --> 00:20:11,838 in West Virginia. 335 00:20:11,922 --> 00:20:14,841 Darrick Hamilton is a professor of economics and urban policy 336 00:20:14,925 --> 00:20:16,384 at the New School in New York. 337 00:20:16,468 --> 00:20:20,347 Douglas Holtz-Eakin is the former director of Congressional Budget Office 338 00:20:20,430 --> 00:20:23,767 and current president of the think tank American Action Forum. 339 00:20:23,850 --> 00:20:27,103 Amy Jo, I want to start with you, because the testimony was so powerful. 340 00:20:27,187 --> 00:20:29,314 Tell me a little bit about why you were called that day, 341 00:20:29,397 --> 00:20:31,191 and what you were testifying about. 342 00:20:32,275 --> 00:20:35,737 I was called to do that because I'd been to Congress before 343 00:20:35,820 --> 00:20:37,239 to speak at a press briefing 344 00:20:37,322 --> 00:20:40,992 when they weren't sure whether they were gonna reauthorize CHIP insurance for kids. 345 00:20:41,076 --> 00:20:42,953 I'm the only parent of two children. 346 00:20:43,036 --> 00:20:45,163 Both of my kids were insured on CHIP. 347 00:20:45,247 --> 00:20:46,957 They wanted someone from West Virginia. 348 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:49,251 We have one of the highest poverty rates in the nation, 349 00:20:49,334 --> 00:20:50,835 especially with child poverty. 350 00:20:50,919 --> 00:20:52,671 I thought it was incredibly powerful 351 00:20:52,754 --> 00:20:55,423 because it was exactly what they say it isn't, 352 00:20:55,507 --> 00:20:57,884 which is, "People are lazy. They're not working hard." 353 00:20:57,968 --> 00:21:00,512 And your story is: You're working your ass off. 354 00:21:00,595 --> 00:21:01,680 Absolutely. 355 00:21:01,763 --> 00:21:04,808 And, Magaly, you represent poultry workers, 356 00:21:04,891 --> 00:21:09,229 which is probably one of the most difficult jobs to do, 357 00:21:09,312 --> 00:21:11,439 just purely on a physical basis. 358 00:21:11,523 --> 00:21:13,525 But also communities that are-- 359 00:21:13,608 --> 00:21:16,987 oftentimes don't have any voice in the system. 360 00:21:17,070 --> 00:21:21,741 Yeah. I began organizing poultry workers since 2014. 361 00:21:21,825 --> 00:21:26,162 The majority of the community are really disabled because of these jobs. 362 00:21:26,663 --> 00:21:29,249 Ergonomic issues, carpal tunnel syndrome. 363 00:21:29,332 --> 00:21:31,668 Most of them have respiratory problems. 364 00:21:31,751 --> 00:21:36,882 So whenever the pandemic hit, it was a red flag for all of the workers. 365 00:21:36,965 --> 00:21:38,967 And we were like, "What is going to happen?" 366 00:21:39,050 --> 00:21:41,636 Because these workers don't even have paid sick leave. 367 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,849 I want to try and figure out some specifics 368 00:21:45,932 --> 00:21:50,353 on what we think can change the dynamic for workers. 369 00:21:50,437 --> 00:21:53,607 Where can we do it from top down rather than bottom up? 370 00:21:54,232 --> 00:21:58,320 Well, I think the one thing to start with is way before they become workers 371 00:21:58,403 --> 00:22:01,364 and way before we're worried about the corporations. 372 00:22:01,448 --> 00:22:05,243 We have a failing K-12 education system in the United States. 373 00:22:05,327 --> 00:22:09,414 Those young people will never have a fighting chance 374 00:22:09,497 --> 00:22:10,498 if we don't take care of 'em. 375 00:22:10,582 --> 00:22:13,209 And I think that's the biggest problem this country faces. 376 00:22:13,293 --> 00:22:14,711 It's been that way for ten years. 377 00:22:14,794 --> 00:22:16,213 We measure it. We don't fix it. 378 00:22:16,296 --> 00:22:18,215 -But isn't that-- -So that's the start. 379 00:22:18,298 --> 00:22:23,220 Isn't that also still a function of-- Education is also a function of poverty. 380 00:22:23,303 --> 00:22:27,849 -And if you're asking teachers to fix… -More than just teach. 381 00:22:27,933 --> 00:22:30,393 -…inherent, systemic economic disparities… -Yes. I agree. 382 00:22:30,477 --> 00:22:32,395 …I think you're putting too much on people. 383 00:22:32,479 --> 00:22:35,315 -I'm not blaming the teachers. -Right. I'm just saying-- 384 00:22:35,398 --> 00:22:36,942 I'm saying-- 385 00:22:37,025 --> 00:22:40,362 If you start out that far behind when you've come into your first job… 386 00:22:40,445 --> 00:22:41,780 -Good grief. -But a lot-- 387 00:22:41,863 --> 00:22:43,865 It makes everything we're gonna suggest much harder. 388 00:22:43,949 --> 00:22:45,617 Education is not a panacea. 389 00:22:45,700 --> 00:22:48,119 Education has become a political ruse. 390 00:22:48,203 --> 00:22:51,915 Education shifts responsibility from public onto individuals. 391 00:22:51,998 --> 00:22:55,585 "If only you work hard and study hard, you will be fine." 392 00:22:55,669 --> 00:22:58,588 If you're Black and your head of household has a college degree, 393 00:22:58,672 --> 00:23:02,384 you have less wealth than a white family where the head dropped out of high school. 394 00:23:02,467 --> 00:23:04,928 So that obviously is established historically. 395 00:23:05,011 --> 00:23:06,555 I mean, we got the causality wrong. 396 00:23:06,638 --> 00:23:11,434 Perhaps it is wealth itself that generates capacity to get a degree 397 00:23:11,518 --> 00:23:13,687 -or a certain amount of education. -[Stewart] Mm-hmm. 398 00:23:13,770 --> 00:23:15,105 At the end of the day, 399 00:23:15,188 --> 00:23:20,569 we need an economy that empowers people with resources well beyond education. 400 00:23:20,652 --> 00:23:23,321 Including education, but many other factors, 401 00:23:23,405 --> 00:23:25,240 like good health, like a job. 402 00:23:25,323 --> 00:23:27,867 Literally having a job. Right to a job. 403 00:23:27,951 --> 00:23:29,452 I have a bachelor's degree. 404 00:23:31,621 --> 00:23:33,873 I'm still impoverished. I-- you know. 405 00:23:33,957 --> 00:23:36,793 There are people with bachelor's degrees making $15 an hour. 406 00:23:36,877 --> 00:23:41,464 -[Stewart] Right. -I was a gifted kid in high school, right? 407 00:23:41,548 --> 00:23:43,091 The world was my oyster. 408 00:23:43,174 --> 00:23:46,052 But I'm still living in poverty, with a bachelor's degree, in this country. 409 00:23:46,136 --> 00:23:48,305 -A lot of the money for education… -[Holtz-Eakin] Shouldn't be that way. 410 00:23:48,388 --> 00:23:53,059 …actually is lost in the tax subsidies that we give to corporations. 411 00:23:53,143 --> 00:23:56,855 So they're inexplicably and inextricably linked. 412 00:23:56,938 --> 00:23:59,816 I get-- Okay, so let's-- Education is one thing. 413 00:23:59,900 --> 00:24:02,485 Amy Jo, what would you say you need? 414 00:24:02,569 --> 00:24:04,321 A care infrastructure. 415 00:24:04,404 --> 00:24:06,072 You want to talk about early education, 416 00:24:06,156 --> 00:24:08,491 we need to include early childhood education as well. 417 00:24:08,575 --> 00:24:12,245 You cannot have workforce participation if you do not have childcare. 418 00:24:12,329 --> 00:24:15,790 You will never-- Childcare in the state of West Virginia, for one child, 419 00:24:15,874 --> 00:24:18,335 for a private-pay family, costs more for one year 420 00:24:18,418 --> 00:24:21,171 than a year at West Virginia University or Marshall University, 421 00:24:21,254 --> 00:24:23,715 which is our state's two largest schools. 422 00:24:23,798 --> 00:24:27,469 So parents are paying more for childcare than they are for college tuition. 423 00:24:27,552 --> 00:24:29,930 So what's gonna incentivize me to go to work? 424 00:24:30,013 --> 00:24:33,058 Childcare has been a middle-class issue 425 00:24:33,141 --> 00:24:35,685 for two decades now on the left and the right. 426 00:24:35,769 --> 00:24:38,939 If you go to solidly Republican congressional districts, 427 00:24:39,022 --> 00:24:43,568 you will find that the leading issue for a lot of women is health and childcare. 428 00:24:43,652 --> 00:24:44,819 That's it. It's really simple. 429 00:24:44,903 --> 00:24:47,155 I don't even think this should be a political issue, though. 430 00:24:47,239 --> 00:24:50,408 Like, start paying attention to the-- Maslow's hierarchy of needs, right? 431 00:24:50,492 --> 00:24:52,494 I have a social work background-- 432 00:24:52,577 --> 00:24:54,829 Oh, shit. Maslow's hierarchy-- 433 00:24:59,459 --> 00:25:01,294 See, now I'm getting a little upset. 434 00:25:01,378 --> 00:25:04,339 -You do have a bachelor's degree. -See, I do. 435 00:25:04,422 --> 00:25:08,385 -Oh, killing it, Amy Jo. -I wanted to be a social worker. 436 00:25:08,468 --> 00:25:11,471 But I mean, you know, it's not rocket science to me. 437 00:25:11,555 --> 00:25:14,140 Just think about the basic needs of human beings. 438 00:25:14,224 --> 00:25:19,354 There was a period in American history where we had improvements. 439 00:25:19,437 --> 00:25:22,023 We had productivity growing at 100% 440 00:25:22,107 --> 00:25:26,820 over a period from 1948 to about 1979, 441 00:25:26,903 --> 00:25:29,990 and labor real wages growing in lockstep. 442 00:25:30,073 --> 00:25:32,867 Then as a result of the Civil Rights Movement, 443 00:25:32,951 --> 00:25:34,995 there was a corporate backlash to that gain. 444 00:25:35,078 --> 00:25:39,124 And it formed into what we now see as supply-side economics. 445 00:25:39,207 --> 00:25:43,587 This idea that if only we invest in the dynamism of corporations, 446 00:25:43,670 --> 00:25:45,964 that that's somehow gonna lift all boats, 447 00:25:46,047 --> 00:25:48,091 that somehow workers are gonna improve as well. 448 00:25:48,174 --> 00:25:50,552 -It obviously hasn't been realized. -Right. 449 00:25:50,635 --> 00:25:54,890 Amy Jo, you know, West Virginia has kind of a vaunted labor history. 450 00:25:54,973 --> 00:25:57,183 You know, mine workers and people like that. 451 00:25:57,267 --> 00:25:58,518 Where is it now? 452 00:25:58,602 --> 00:26:00,645 Like, in terms of the people that you represent? 453 00:26:00,729 --> 00:26:02,939 Now we're a right-to-work state. 454 00:26:03,023 --> 00:26:06,151 And what the state legislature's trying to pass, we can't even organize now. 455 00:26:06,234 --> 00:26:07,986 They don't even want us to organize, you know. 456 00:26:08,069 --> 00:26:11,156 But I think, you know, one of the biggest obstacles from my-- 457 00:26:11,239 --> 00:26:12,449 This is my lived experience. 458 00:26:12,532 --> 00:26:14,701 Don't wanna speak for the millions of poor people out there. 459 00:26:14,784 --> 00:26:16,870 But one of the obstacles is, like, 460 00:26:16,953 --> 00:26:20,749 you know, you're choosing between organizing and pissing off your boss. 461 00:26:21,333 --> 00:26:23,084 And if you're in that gray space 462 00:26:23,168 --> 00:26:27,339 between not qualifying for SNAP and not making enough to get by, 463 00:26:27,422 --> 00:26:30,383 like, the real decision at the end of the day will come to, 464 00:26:30,467 --> 00:26:33,261 "Amy Jo, are you gonna join this union and piss off your boss, 465 00:26:33,345 --> 00:26:35,555 or are you going to feed your kids in the morning?" 466 00:26:35,639 --> 00:26:39,392 You know, and so that's how drastic this stuff is. 467 00:26:39,476 --> 00:26:42,354 I organize poultry workers in the home of Tyson Foods. 468 00:26:42,437 --> 00:26:45,607 And so Tyson has so much influence over the community 469 00:26:45,690 --> 00:26:48,193 that workers could not even travel with me. 470 00:26:48,276 --> 00:26:51,404 Or they cannot even do, like, TV interviews 471 00:26:51,488 --> 00:26:54,824 because they're afraid that they're gonna be losing their jobs-- 472 00:26:54,908 --> 00:26:58,286 -The workers won't come on camera? -On TV? No. 473 00:26:58,370 --> 00:27:01,831 Tyson has so much power in these rural white communities. 474 00:27:01,915 --> 00:27:04,793 Like, last year with the pandemic, 475 00:27:04,876 --> 00:27:09,172 we saw the huge power of the meat companies over the government. 476 00:27:09,256 --> 00:27:12,092 I mean, the processing plants were the hot spot of COVID-19. 477 00:27:12,175 --> 00:27:18,390 And they paid so much millions to lobby for the companies to not shut down. 478 00:27:18,473 --> 00:27:21,810 What power is strong enough 479 00:27:21,893 --> 00:27:26,606 to countervail corporate power in this country? 480 00:27:26,690 --> 00:27:28,900 To me, the answer is obvious: public power. 481 00:27:28,984 --> 00:27:32,404 At the end of the day, government works on behalf of people, 482 00:27:32,487 --> 00:27:34,573 and that is who they should be responsible for. 483 00:27:34,656 --> 00:27:36,741 And we shouldn't give Treasury a pass. 484 00:27:36,825 --> 00:27:38,326 We saw through this pandemic 485 00:27:38,410 --> 00:27:41,246 that Treasury could do more than just revenue collect. 486 00:27:41,329 --> 00:27:44,082 They could send resources directly to the American people. 487 00:27:44,165 --> 00:27:47,961 Treasury and the tax code is America's biggest fiscal tool. 488 00:27:48,044 --> 00:27:49,546 And right now it is out of whack 489 00:27:49,629 --> 00:27:52,674 with the values of government working on behalf of people 490 00:27:52,757 --> 00:27:54,593 as opposed to the corporations. 491 00:27:54,676 --> 00:27:57,762 I really appreciate you guys coming here and having the conversation. 492 00:27:57,846 --> 00:28:00,348 I'm pretty sure we fixed it? 493 00:28:04,144 --> 00:28:05,770 Thank you so much. We'll be right back 494 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:08,857 Guys, we did it! 495 00:28:11,693 --> 00:28:13,153 Hi. I'm LeVar Burton. 496 00:28:13,236 --> 00:28:15,113 You know me from… 497 00:28:15,196 --> 00:28:16,197 You know me. 498 00:28:16,823 --> 00:28:19,367 I've already taught one MasterClass, but wouldn't you know it? 499 00:28:19,451 --> 00:28:21,161 I've got more to say. 500 00:28:21,244 --> 00:28:24,372 So in this new series, I'm going to teach you 501 00:28:24,456 --> 00:28:27,542 why this country won't raise the minimum wage. 502 00:28:28,126 --> 00:28:31,129 Where's that book for the little Internet course I'm doing? 503 00:28:31,755 --> 00:28:32,756 Here it is. 504 00:28:38,011 --> 00:28:40,472 "This all started with slave labor." 505 00:28:40,555 --> 00:28:42,974 But Kunta don't need to read that shit. 506 00:28:43,058 --> 00:28:45,101 America won't raise the minimum wage 507 00:28:45,185 --> 00:28:47,437 because they're used to getting the work for free. 508 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:50,023 That's why we need a higher minimum wage, 509 00:28:50,106 --> 00:28:53,109 because if they could get away with it, they'd pay you nothing. 510 00:28:53,693 --> 00:28:56,071 It's not slavery. It's perpetual poverty. 511 00:28:57,405 --> 00:28:59,115 Join me for my next series, 512 00:28:59,199 --> 00:29:01,868 where I teach you about American beauty standards 513 00:29:01,952 --> 00:29:05,038 using the exact same book. 514 00:29:05,121 --> 00:29:08,458 But you don't have to take my word for it. 515 00:29:09,292 --> 00:29:10,544 I'll see you next time. 516 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:21,638 I think, in 2008, "We can't let the auto industry fail." 517 00:29:21,721 --> 00:29:24,599 "We can't let big banks fail, the insurance industry fail." 518 00:29:24,683 --> 00:29:28,520 I think there's still a lot of support for the idea 519 00:29:28,603 --> 00:29:30,939 that corporations are too big to fail. 520 00:29:31,022 --> 00:29:33,817 Or not even too big to fail, that we can't let them fail. 521 00:29:33,900 --> 00:29:36,861 Because they are the backbone of our economy, right? 522 00:29:36,945 --> 00:29:38,863 Don't you think that's still a false choice? 523 00:29:38,947 --> 00:29:41,116 It's not about making them fail. 524 00:29:41,199 --> 00:29:43,827 It's about not allowing them to privatize profit 525 00:29:43,910 --> 00:29:45,328 -and socialize losses. -Exactly. 526 00:29:45,412 --> 00:29:50,333 You came around to the idea that government is responsible for this. 527 00:29:50,417 --> 00:29:53,879 And government isn't doing its job to rein in these corporations. 528 00:29:53,962 --> 00:29:56,548 Yeah. Regulation isn't the answer. 529 00:29:56,631 --> 00:29:58,842 Because they're outgunned. 530 00:29:58,925 --> 00:30:01,678 I don't wanna do a riff from Hamilton right now. 531 00:30:01,761 --> 00:30:03,972 -♪ Outgunned, outmanned ♪ -[others laughing, chattering] 532 00:30:04,055 --> 00:30:06,224 -♪ Out-planned, out stand ♪ -[Reniqua laughs] 533 00:30:06,308 --> 00:30:09,519 -Stop rolling. Cut. -♪ Out-fanned, outmanned ♪ 534 00:30:09,603 --> 00:30:11,271 -♪ Out-sand ♪ -[Chelsea] Yeah. Oh, boy. 535 00:30:11,354 --> 00:30:14,357 -You'll never stop trying to get into it. -This show just got canceled. 536 00:30:14,441 --> 00:30:16,067 -♪ Room where it happens ♪ -[all laugh] 537 00:30:16,151 --> 00:30:18,778 -♪ Everybody! Room where it happens ♪ -[Chelsea] No. [laughs] 538 00:30:18,862 --> 00:30:21,531 -♪ I'm a Jellicle cat ♪ -[laughing continues] 539 00:30:21,615 --> 00:30:23,533 ♪ I'm a Jellicle cat ♪ 540 00:30:25,535 --> 00:30:27,913 [Stewart] Thank you for taking time to talk to us. 541 00:30:27,996 --> 00:30:29,664 -[woman] Thank you-- -We really appreciate it. 542 00:30:29,748 --> 00:30:33,960 You know, they say that free-market capitalism 543 00:30:34,044 --> 00:30:36,713 is the best way 544 00:30:36,796 --> 00:30:41,176 to deliver prosperity and growth 545 00:30:41,259 --> 00:30:47,432 and the most efficient way to distribute that prosperity throughout a population. 546 00:30:47,515 --> 00:30:48,892 So, I guess my question is: 547 00:30:48,975 --> 00:30:53,563 When can we have a free-market capitalist system in this country? 548 00:30:53,647 --> 00:30:55,899 -Well, we do have a capitalist system… -What? 549 00:30:55,982 --> 00:30:58,068 -…in this country. -But not free market? 550 00:30:58,151 --> 00:31:01,112 -The government plays an important role. -Right. 551 00:31:01,196 --> 00:31:06,284 And it's really essential that government play its role 552 00:31:06,368 --> 00:31:12,123 in order to make a market economy efficient, well-functioning and fair. 553 00:31:12,207 --> 00:31:14,542 In our economy, when government intervenes, 554 00:31:14,626 --> 00:31:18,088 government intervenes on behalf of corporate interests 555 00:31:18,171 --> 00:31:23,260 in a much more robust way than they do for labor interests. 556 00:31:24,386 --> 00:31:29,391 I think in recent decades it is pretty much a fair assessment 557 00:31:29,474 --> 00:31:35,981 that many of the interventions have enhanced the power of corporations, 558 00:31:36,064 --> 00:31:42,028 and we've ignored the needs of individuals. 559 00:31:42,112 --> 00:31:46,825 And I think there are structural forces in US economy 560 00:31:46,908 --> 00:31:50,745 and a failure of policy to do the job 561 00:31:50,829 --> 00:31:53,164 -that Americans, I think… -Right. 562 00:31:53,248 --> 00:31:56,084 …should want government policy to do. 563 00:31:56,167 --> 00:31:58,712 The Fed-- and you were the chairman of the Fed-- 564 00:31:58,795 --> 00:32:02,716 they're charged with making sure that inflation doesn't get out of control, 565 00:32:02,799 --> 00:32:05,468 and that there's a certain stability in the employment market. 566 00:32:05,552 --> 00:32:09,848 Employment and price stability is the Fed's dual mandate. 567 00:32:09,931 --> 00:32:14,144 The Fed will step in when corporate policy fails. 568 00:32:14,227 --> 00:32:16,855 They'll backstop large corporations. 569 00:32:16,938 --> 00:32:19,316 Couldn't they also do that for workers? 570 00:32:20,025 --> 00:32:21,276 Well, look, 571 00:32:21,359 --> 00:32:27,365 corporations only have access to the Fed in very rare circumstances. 572 00:32:27,449 --> 00:32:30,327 And that is when we're faced with a financial crisis, 573 00:32:30,410 --> 00:32:32,996 as we were in 2008, 574 00:32:33,079 --> 00:32:36,207 and then again when the pandemic struck. 575 00:32:37,208 --> 00:32:43,882 The Fed has a responsibility to make sure that our financial system functions. 576 00:32:43,965 --> 00:32:46,301 -It's not right to say… -But do you see, then-- Right. 577 00:32:46,384 --> 00:32:51,139 …that the Fed is lending to corporations on a regular basis. 578 00:32:51,223 --> 00:32:53,266 -But… -Maybe that's the disconnect though. 579 00:32:53,350 --> 00:32:57,646 Because I think the 2008 crisis is a great example, you know. 580 00:32:58,230 --> 00:33:01,483 Instead of a big fire hose of money 581 00:33:01,566 --> 00:33:05,237 being turned on those mortgages that went underwater 582 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:07,364 and brought them back to sea level, 583 00:33:08,281 --> 00:33:12,285 they chose to pour money into those bundles, 584 00:33:12,369 --> 00:33:14,454 and a lot of people lost their houses. 585 00:33:14,537 --> 00:33:19,876 People had every reason to feel unhappy about what happened. 586 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:22,045 The purpose of intervening 587 00:33:22,128 --> 00:33:28,343 so that big financial institutions and markets didn't completely fail 588 00:33:28,426 --> 00:33:32,847 was to avoid a drying up of credit in the economy. 589 00:33:32,931 --> 00:33:38,061 If those financial institutions had been allowed to fail, 590 00:33:38,144 --> 00:33:44,651 the toll on ordinary families would have been not only bad, 591 00:33:44,734 --> 00:33:45,944 which it was, 592 00:33:46,027 --> 00:33:48,572 -but unspeakably horrendous. -Mm-hmm. 593 00:33:48,655 --> 00:33:52,325 We would've been looking at something like the Great Depression. 594 00:33:52,409 --> 00:33:56,788 I think, for people, they would view it as, 595 00:33:56,871 --> 00:34:01,042 "Well, if I'm gonna lose my house, that's a crisis." You know? 596 00:34:01,126 --> 00:34:03,420 "And I don't have a backstop." 597 00:34:04,004 --> 00:34:08,633 That's an important reason why, when the pandemic struck, 598 00:34:08,717 --> 00:34:14,972 President Biden and his administration have been focused 599 00:34:15,056 --> 00:34:18,059 on using fiscal policy, not the Fed 600 00:34:18,143 --> 00:34:22,646 to get help to all those who really need it. 601 00:34:22,731 --> 00:34:26,192 But corporate America gets all the benefits 602 00:34:26,276 --> 00:34:29,112 of American stability and fiscal policy 603 00:34:29,195 --> 00:34:31,280 but bears none of the responsibility. 604 00:34:31,364 --> 00:34:33,032 I'll give you an example. 605 00:34:33,115 --> 00:34:36,411 Walmart. They make billions in profits. 606 00:34:36,494 --> 00:34:41,374 Their workers are one of the largest corporate users 607 00:34:41,458 --> 00:34:43,501 of social service programs. 608 00:34:43,585 --> 00:34:46,630 Why don't Walmart workers share in the profits of Walmart? 609 00:34:47,338 --> 00:34:50,217 You know, in a capitalist system, 610 00:34:50,300 --> 00:34:55,847 companies have a right to distribute profits to their shareholders. 611 00:34:55,931 --> 00:34:58,225 They're not forced to. 612 00:34:58,308 --> 00:35:02,145 -There's nothing in the law forces them-- -But aren't we subsidizing-- 613 00:35:02,229 --> 00:35:03,897 This is the insidious part, I think, of-- 614 00:35:03,980 --> 00:35:07,025 When we talk about that we have a free-market system. 615 00:35:07,108 --> 00:35:09,236 Because what it makes it seem like 616 00:35:09,319 --> 00:35:15,200 is that the natural order of things is that Walmart makes billions in profits 617 00:35:15,283 --> 00:35:17,702 and can distribute it to its shareholders, 618 00:35:17,786 --> 00:35:19,037 and that's just how it goes. 619 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:21,873 But we know that we, the taxpayers, 620 00:35:21,957 --> 00:35:26,336 are subsidizing their workforce with food stamps. 621 00:35:26,419 --> 00:35:30,215 They're getting the benefit of our tax dollars. 622 00:35:30,298 --> 00:35:32,300 So it's not free market. 623 00:35:32,384 --> 00:35:37,514 The government, in many cases, should be running programs. 624 00:35:37,597 --> 00:35:42,644 It's not necessarily the case that Walmart should do that directly. 625 00:35:42,727 --> 00:35:47,899 You don't feel they are responsible because they benefit from fiscal policy-- 626 00:35:47,983 --> 00:35:50,026 they benefit from the American infrastructure. 627 00:35:50,110 --> 00:35:52,529 They do benefit from fiscal policy. 628 00:35:52,612 --> 00:35:58,118 But I think the way-- an important way of making them pay is by taxing them 629 00:35:58,201 --> 00:36:03,290 and making sure that their profits provide the resources 630 00:36:03,373 --> 00:36:05,917 to provide that infrastructure. 631 00:36:06,001 --> 00:36:10,297 You would rather they still make their billions in profit, 632 00:36:10,380 --> 00:36:12,299 but as long as they pay us taxes 633 00:36:12,382 --> 00:36:17,095 so that we have enough to give their workers food stamps, that's okay? 634 00:36:17,178 --> 00:36:19,556 We also need to invest in their workers 635 00:36:19,639 --> 00:36:25,770 so that they can have jobs that will produce better pay, 636 00:36:25,854 --> 00:36:28,481 that they'll have the skills to be able to compete. 637 00:36:28,565 --> 00:36:33,194 But it feels like the system doesn't have accountability 638 00:36:33,278 --> 00:36:34,863 for those at the corporate level. 639 00:36:34,946 --> 00:36:37,240 -How do we build that into the system? -Well, I-- 640 00:36:37,324 --> 00:36:39,367 I think there's a lot of truth in what you're saying. 641 00:36:39,451 --> 00:36:43,663 And we're very focused on trying to make sure 642 00:36:43,747 --> 00:36:47,083 that companies are responsible 643 00:36:47,167 --> 00:36:49,586 and do pay their fair share. 644 00:36:49,669 --> 00:36:51,504 So corporate-- 645 00:36:51,588 --> 00:36:53,965 But we slashed the IRS budget. We have all-- 646 00:36:54,049 --> 00:36:56,343 We make accountability very difficult. 647 00:36:56,426 --> 00:36:57,886 We're trying to reverse that. 648 00:36:57,969 --> 00:37:04,601 We're proposing a substantial increase in resources for the IRS 649 00:37:04,684 --> 00:37:07,229 so they can go after tax evasion. 650 00:37:07,312 --> 00:37:08,939 I want to tell you about another thing… 651 00:37:09,022 --> 00:37:10,357 -Yeah. -…that's important here. 652 00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:14,861 All over the world, countries have been competing with one another 653 00:37:14,945 --> 00:37:18,657 to attract these companies by cutting corporate tax rates. 654 00:37:18,740 --> 00:37:21,326 -Right. -Every country faces this, 655 00:37:21,409 --> 00:37:24,913 of companies having power and saying to governments, 656 00:37:24,996 --> 00:37:27,999 "Cut our tax rates, or we're gonna go someplace else." 657 00:37:28,083 --> 00:37:32,212 Is the problem here that corporations feel like they have this country over a barrel? 658 00:37:32,295 --> 00:37:36,341 We have a system where political contributions are important 659 00:37:36,424 --> 00:37:41,263 and where wealthy corporations and individuals, um, 660 00:37:41,346 --> 00:37:44,683 use the power of… 661 00:37:44,766 --> 00:37:49,437 -Access. -…of access to skew the playing field. 662 00:37:49,521 --> 00:37:53,817 But the Biden administration has a different view. 663 00:37:53,900 --> 00:38:00,323 And we wanna make sure that companies behave fairly, 664 00:38:00,407 --> 00:38:02,534 that they pay their fair share. 665 00:38:02,617 --> 00:38:05,912 And we make the investments in people and communities 666 00:38:05,996 --> 00:38:08,248 -that are necessary to reverse this. -Who fights you on this? 667 00:38:08,331 --> 00:38:10,041 When you bring this up, 668 00:38:10,125 --> 00:38:12,669 or when you try and change fiscal policy in that way, 669 00:38:13,837 --> 00:38:15,046 where's the fight from? 670 00:38:15,130 --> 00:38:16,464 What are the headwinds? 671 00:38:16,548 --> 00:38:18,508 Why is it difficult to push through? 672 00:38:19,676 --> 00:38:21,678 -The headwinds come-- -And I'd like some names. 673 00:38:21,761 --> 00:38:22,762 Let me get a pen. 674 00:38:22,846 --> 00:38:24,931 You know, the-- 675 00:38:25,015 --> 00:38:27,309 People don't like to have their taxes increased. 676 00:38:27,392 --> 00:38:32,647 And, you know, we need to raise more tax revenue 677 00:38:32,731 --> 00:38:37,360 in order to finance the investments that our economy needs 678 00:38:37,444 --> 00:38:39,821 to be productive and for families to do well. 679 00:38:39,905 --> 00:38:46,036 Isn't entrenched poverty in this country an urgent enough situation… 680 00:38:46,119 --> 00:38:49,456 -It is. -…that if the Fed will intervene 681 00:38:49,539 --> 00:38:51,958 on behalf of a cataclysm, 682 00:38:52,042 --> 00:38:57,964 shouldn't perpetual poverty be another urgent example 683 00:38:58,048 --> 00:39:01,801 of a catastrophe that needs to be ameliorated? 684 00:39:01,885 --> 00:39:04,512 We need to raise the minimum wage. 685 00:39:04,596 --> 00:39:06,932 Congress has refused to act on it. 686 00:39:07,015 --> 00:39:12,229 That's something that Congress needs to do to protect workers. 687 00:39:12,312 --> 00:39:13,939 There's a lot that needs to be-- 688 00:39:14,022 --> 00:39:18,526 President Biden has set out a Build Back Better Agenda. 689 00:39:18,610 --> 00:39:21,488 -[shuddering] I don't like slogans. Ah! -And it has-- 690 00:39:21,571 --> 00:39:24,115 Well, I think Build Back Better is a good slogan. And-- 691 00:39:24,199 --> 00:39:27,410 It's alliteration. I'll give you alliteration. But I'm not crazy about it. 692 00:39:27,494 --> 00:39:31,665 I like it because it says that there's something wrong 693 00:39:31,748 --> 00:39:35,794 with the way our economy has been working that we need to change. 694 00:39:35,877 --> 00:39:41,341 What we have is a society that's grown increasingly unequal, 695 00:39:41,424 --> 00:39:43,718 with huge inequality. 696 00:39:43,802 --> 00:39:50,517 And it perpetuates itself over time in ways that are really insidious. 697 00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:53,311 You know, there's a lot we can do. 698 00:39:53,395 --> 00:39:56,481 And we have an agenda. We know what to do. 699 00:39:57,732 --> 00:39:59,901 Secretary, thank you so much. 700 00:39:59,985 --> 00:40:02,862 -Thank you. Much appreciated. -Much appreciated. Thank you so much. 701 00:40:03,738 --> 00:40:06,866 I had this whole thing worked up in my mind about the stock market, 702 00:40:06,950 --> 00:40:10,078 and how the Fed has been artificially inflating stock prices, 703 00:40:10,161 --> 00:40:13,164 and, "Doesn't that point to another intervention on behalf of corporations?" 704 00:40:13,248 --> 00:40:16,668 The way I'd gamed it out, the conversation would've ended with, 705 00:40:16,751 --> 00:40:19,588 -"Sir, I yield." -[producers laughing] 706 00:40:19,671 --> 00:40:22,799 "I yield to thee. You have vanquished"-- 707 00:40:22,883 --> 00:40:26,219 -And then she would fall over… -[producers chuckle] 708 00:40:26,303 --> 00:40:28,013 …and turn into a handkerchief. 709 00:40:29,598 --> 00:40:32,767 The stock market is really owned by a very small group of people 710 00:40:32,851 --> 00:40:33,852 at the end of the day. 711 00:40:33,935 --> 00:40:37,939 The top 10% wealthiest families own 84% of overall equities. 712 00:40:38,023 --> 00:40:40,692 -84% of the stock market. -[Brinda] Right. 713 00:40:40,775 --> 00:40:46,406 It's been drilled into all of us now that the stock market is the economy. 714 00:40:46,489 --> 00:40:48,867 And even for me, as a dude who owns zero stocks, 715 00:40:48,950 --> 00:40:51,202 every time I see the stock market's up, I'm like, "Thank God." 716 00:40:51,286 --> 00:40:52,537 [Stewart] Yeah. "We're okay." 717 00:40:52,621 --> 00:40:55,206 [Reza] "We're all doing good today. Today's a good day." 718 00:40:55,290 --> 00:40:59,169 Solution is, we lose the stock ticker, and we create a ticker of just people. 719 00:40:59,753 --> 00:41:03,757 We follow the fortunes of workers on the ticker on CNBC. 720 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:05,133 Just-- Boom! 721 00:41:05,217 --> 00:41:08,553 And then, on the-- Listen, not all the ideas are gonna be gems. 722 00:41:12,641 --> 00:41:13,892 Hello again! 723 00:41:16,603 --> 00:41:18,480 Please support the efforts of tonight's guests. 724 00:41:18,563 --> 00:41:20,982 We will be following their work on the show's podcast. 725 00:41:21,066 --> 00:41:22,943 We have a podcast, 726 00:41:23,026 --> 00:41:26,112 which I have to say is just neck and neck with music in my eyes. 727 00:41:26,196 --> 00:41:27,197 Just-- Really. 728 00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:30,784 Podcast, music. What do I listen to today? 729 00:41:32,077 --> 00:41:35,872 By the way, if you're wondering what a CNBC screen would look like 730 00:41:35,956 --> 00:41:40,126 if it actually reflected the important metrics of the economy… 731 00:41:40,210 --> 00:41:41,711 Ta-da. 732 00:41:41,795 --> 00:41:44,673 There we go. Purchasing power, 733 00:41:44,756 --> 00:41:47,425 median wage, investing in work-- 734 00:41:47,509 --> 00:41:51,513 Hey, look at that. Vanessa is up 1.4 points. 735 00:41:53,390 --> 00:41:55,600 She just got a vendor's license for a food truck. 736 00:41:55,684 --> 00:41:58,562 It's plant-based CBD barbecue fusion. 737 00:42:00,689 --> 00:42:02,857 It's a little bit of a risk. But we'll see. 738 00:42:04,025 --> 00:42:06,611 That's all for tonight. Please join us next time. Thank you. 739 00:42:08,530 --> 00:42:09,531 That's it!