Peter Schiff on The Daily Show, Talking Minimum Wage

Investment guru and free-market proponent Peter Schiff was
recently on The Daily Show for a segment about the minimum wage. It
didn’t go well. As he explains
in a column:

My use of the words “mentally retarded” (when Samantha Bee
asked me who might be willing to work for $2 per hour – a figure
she suggested) has come to define the entire interview. Although I
had no intention of offending anyone, I just couldn’t remember the
politically correct term currently in use (it is “intellectually
disabled”). Assuming she knew it, Bee could have prompted me with
the correct term, but she chose not to. By including those
comments in the final package, “The Daily Show” proved that they
did not care who they offended, as long as they could make me look
bad in the process. The volume of hate mail I have received in the
show’s aftermath confirms their success on that front….

“The Daily Show” was never interested in an honest debate
about the minimum wage. Nor is it concerned with the
intellectually disabled, whom they have no qualms about offending
if they can get a laugh. In fact, it’s “The Daily Show” that
wants to tell the intellectually disabled they are worthless, as
they want to make it illegal for them to have jobs. I did not
notice any intellectually disabled people working at “The Daily
Show.” I’m sure many would jump at the chance, particularly if they
were offered minimum wage or higher. But since they choose to pay
their intellectually capable interns zero, why should they be
expected to pay the intellectually disabled more?

 More here.

I’m sympathetic toward Schiff, especially since he’s proven to
be an incredible persuader in many other circumstances. Check out this
video Reason TV did with him where he’s talking with Occupy
Wall Street protesters. It’s got almost half-a-million views and is
electrifying stuff.

Reason TV was at the same minimum-wage rally that appears in The
Daily Show bit. Here’s what we saw: