Andy Puzder ‘Very Disappointed’ He’s Not Labor Secretary

YOU KNOW, I'M SURE HE COULD BE RIGHT BUT I DON'T THINK HE IS.
I THINK HE'S WRONG. >> WHEN YOU WORE THE FORMER HAT
AS CEO OF CKE YOU FOUGHT AGAINST RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE.
IF WAGE GROWTH WHAT IS WE NEED, INCREASED WAGES HAVE YOU CHANGED
YOUR OPINION ON THAT? >> NO.
ACTUALLY, THAT'S NOT TRUE. FOR THE LAST COUPLE YEARS I'VE
BEEN ENCOURAGING THE NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION AND THE
INTERNATIONAL FRANCHISE ASSOCIATION TO GET BEHIND AN
INCREASE IN THE MINIMUM WAGE. WHAT I OPPOSE AND STILL OPPOSE,
IS AN INCREASE IN THE MINIMUM WAGE THAT KILLS JOBS.
IF YOU GET TO THE POINT WHERE YOU'RE KILLING JOBS, THEN YOU'RE
REALLY ACTING COUNTER TO WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO WHICH IS
HURT -- HELP WORKING CLASS AMERICANS.
$15 AN HOUR CLEARLY KILLS A LOT OF JOBS.
THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE A COUPLE YEARS AGO SAID $10.10
AN HOUR WOULD KILL 500,000 JOBS. WE HAVE TO FOUND A BALANCE TO
INCREASE WAGES AND WE SHOULD INCREASE THEM BUT NOT TAKING
AWAY JOBS PEOPLE NEED TO GET ON THE LADDER OF OPPORTUNITY.
THERE WAS A LOT OF PUBLICITY ABOUT MY BEING OPPOSED TO
INCREASE IN THE MINIMUM WAGE JUST WASN'T TRUE.
>> IF A BORDER ADJUSTMENT TAX IS OFF THE TABLE AND WE STILL
PARTICIPATE, WHICH WE WILL, IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY, HOW IS IT THAT
WE'RE GOING TO PUT PRESSURE ON COMPANIES TO ACTUALLY INCREASE
WAGES? IF YOU CAN GET LABOR COSTS -- IF
LABOR COSTS CONTINUE TO BE MUCH LOWER OVERSEAS WHAT PRESSURE CAN
YOU PUT ON COMPANIES NOW TO PAY EMPLOYEES MORE?
I MEAN THE DISPARITY BETWEEN CEO AND WORKER PAY HAS NEVER BEEN
GREATER? >> WELL THE DISPARITY BETWEEN
CEO AND WORKER PAY HAS BEEN DRIVEN IN LARGE PART BY SOME
HUGE, HUGE INCOMES BY PEOPLE LIKE A MARK ZUCKERBERG, OR STEVE
JOBS, WHILE HE WAS STILL ALIVE, OR BEZOS AT AMAZON.
YOU HAVE THESE REALLY SPECTACULAR COMPANIES THAT HAVE
DONE A LOT OF GOOD FOR AMERICA, BUT YOU'VE GOT CEOs WHO MAKE A
LOT OF MONEY IN THAT RESPECT. AS FAR AS KEEPING JOBS IN THE
UNITED STATES, I THINK ONE IS IF WE CAN REDUCE THE THE NUMBER OF
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS OR LOW-WAGE WORKING IMMIGRANTS, IF WE CAN
REDUCE THOSE NUMBERS AND FIND AMERICANS TO FILL THOSE JOBS I
THINK YOU'RE GOING TO SEE WAGES GO UP.
AND IF WE CAN GENERATE ECONOMIC GROWTH SO THERE ARE MORE JOBS IN
THIS COUNTRY, SO WE HAVE EMPLOYERS COMPETING WITH EACH
OTHER FOR EMPLOYEES AS OPPOSED TO EMPLOYEES COMPETING FOR JOBS,
THAT'S WHAT DRIVES WAGES AND BENEFITS UP AND I THINK WE COULD
EASILY HAVE THAT SITUATION WITH THE TAX PLAN THAT GENERATED
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS
PROPOSING. >> WHY DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO
TAKE THE CORPORATE TAX RATE FROM 35% DOWN TO 15%?
WHICH KNOW THAT COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING WE'VE GOT A HIGH RATE,
BUT WHEN YOU ACTUALLY LOOK, VERY FEW COMPANIES ARE REALLY PAYING
THAT 35%. I MENTIONED IT EARLIER, YOU WERE
TALKING ABOUT CEOs LIKE MARK ZUCKERBERG, STEVE JOBS,
COMPANIES LIKE IBM, WHO HAVE MISSED SALES FOR 20 CONSECUTIVE
MONTHS, THEY'RE NOT PAYING -- LAST MONTH THEY GOT A TAX
CREDIT. THEY GOT CEOs GETTING PAID $33
MILLION AND THEY'RE NOT PAYING 15%.
SO UNLESS YOU HAVE A FLAT TAX WHERE MY MOM AND DAD WHO CAN'T
NECESSARILY AFFORD TO PAY FOR A TAX SPECIALIST, THEY'RE GETTING
THE SHORT END OF THE STICK AND AS LONG AS CORPORATE AMERICA HAS
TAX GURUS WHO CAN FIND THOSE LOOPHOLES BECAUSE THOSE
LOOPHOLES AREN'T GOING AWAY, WHY DO THEY NEED TO GO TO 15%?
YOU'RE JUST GOING TO JACK UP THE DEFICIT?
>> TWO THINGS. ONE, WE WANT TO GET THE
CORPORATE RATE DOWN SO THAT WE'RE NOT SEEING THE NUMBER OF
CORPORATE INVERSIONS WE'RE SEEING, WHICH IS WHERE
CORPORATIONS GO OVERSEAS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A LOWER TAX RATE.
>> GIVE THEM A PENALTY. >> IF WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS
RIGHT, THEN CORPORATIONS WOULDN'T BE GOING OVERSEAS TO
SEE THOSE RATES. THERE ARE CORPORATIONS THAT TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF LOOPHOLES IN THE TAX CODE.
SUCH AS IBM AS YOU JUST MENTIONED NOT PAYING TAXES.
FOR THOSE CORPORATIONS ACTUALLY GOING TO A 15% RATE AND REDUCING
DEDUCTIONS AND LOOPHOLES, WHICH WHAT IS THIS PLAN IS SUPPOSED TO
DO, THAT WOULD INCREASE TAXES FOR THOSE CORPORATIONS.
SO YOU WOULD PUNISH THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE
SYSTEM NOW, BUT YOU WOULD LOWER THE RATES SO PEOPLE WEREN'T
ENCOURAGED, PEOPLE THAT DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SYSTEM,
WOULDN'T BE ENCOURAGED TO INCORPORATE OVERSEAS.
SO I THINK A 15% RATE, EVEN IF IT WENT TO 20%, BUT A RATE IN
THAT RANGE WOULD BE HUGE FOR AMERICAN BUSINESSES.
WHITE KEEP BUSINESS HERE. IT WOULD BE -- IT WOULD KEEP
BUSINESS HERE. THERE WOULD BE MORE JOBS.
ENCOURAGE CORPORATIONS TO EITHER PAY THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF TAX OR
STAY IN THE UNITED STATES, BOTH OF WHICH ARE GOOD.
>> I HAVE TO ASK YOU, WHEN I LOOK AT JEB BUSH NOW SPENDING
HIS TIME BUYING THE MARLINS WITH DEREK JETER, HE MIGHT BE SAYING,
I'M PRETTY STOKED I'M NOT PRESIDENT.
YOU WERE IN A POSITION WHERE YOU MAY HAVE BEEN LABOR SECRETARY.
DO YOU WISH YOU WERE? >> ABSOLUTELY.
I FEEL LIKE IT WAS A JOB I WAS PREPARING FOR FOR MY ENTIRE
CAREER. I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED I'M NOT.
EVEN WATCHING THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS WITH PEOPLE DOWN
THERE THAT HAVE BEEN FRIENDS OF MINE FOR A LONG TIME LIKE RICK
PERRY AND RYAN ZINC KI AND WILBUR ROSS THAT I MET DURING
THE PROCESS BEING AT HOME SITTING ON THE COUCH DRINKING A
GLASS OF WINE ON THE COUCH WITH MY WIFE WATCHING IT ON TV,
DISAPPOINTING IN ONE RESPECT, BUT BEING AT HOME DRINKING WINE
WITH YOUR WIFE ISN'T A BAD THING.
>> THREE DAYS LATER WHEN THE PRESIDENT, AFTER HE GAVE THAT
STRONG STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS, HE WOKE UP AND HE
TWEETED THAT THE FORMER PRESIDENT HACKED HIM.
THAT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN A HEADACHE FOR YOU?
>> WELL LOOK, A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT DONALD TRUMP HAS
SAID PEOPLE C CRITICIZE VERY HEAVILY, BUT THEN YOU FIND OUT
THAT THEY HAD SOME LEGITIMACY. I REMEMBER DURING THE --
>> SO YOU THINK PRESIDENT OBAMA WIRETAPPED HIM?
>> NO. BUT WE DID FIND OUT PEOPLE IN
THE ADMINISTRATION WERE -- I DON'T KNOW IF THEY WERE
WIRETAPPED OR HACKED, WHAT THE RIGHT WORD WOULD BE, BUT WE DID
FIND OUT THAT THERE WAS SOME THINGS GOING ON THAT MAYBE
WOULDN'T BE CONSIDERED APPROPRIATE IN THAT

Andy Puzder ‘Very Disappointed’ He’s Not Labor Secretary | MSNBC

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