Sunday, September 05, 2010
Candy Crowley rushed to misjudgement
Were you watching Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO president, and Todd McCracken, National Small Business Association president, on CNN’s State of the Union this morning? Katrina and I were keeping an eye on Candy Crowley.
The Nation’s Katrina vandenHeuvel tweeted, “AFL’s Richard Trumka a strong & welcome voice on CNN this am. Candy Crowley sure seemed skittish w/some of what he said.”
I paid most attention to the last question in the segment. Crowley may have been rushed, but I think she rushed to misjudge the very issue she was trying to straighten out.
- She played a clip of Joe Biden countering the Republican argument that raising taxes on the richest 2 percent of Americans would hurt small business. “Not 3 percent of the small businesses in America would benefit one single, solitary penny of extending that top 2 percent tax cut,” Biden said.
- Then she said to the small biz association guy, “Mr. McCracken, clear this up for us, because every time we start on this—start down this tax cut thing and the $250,000 mark, what we hear is this is going to hurt small businesses.”
- And he gave an answer conceding that only a fraction of small businesses would be affected (pundits on the Right will be ignoring that bit). ”...this is the wrong time to increase taxes on anybody, because the companies that do pay this tax—and it is a minority of small companies, for sure—but the ones that do are the more successful ones who are most likely to be growing jobs and the ones that we want to continue to be successful and we don’t want to put disincentives in place for them to do it. But the vice president is correct that it is only a fraction of small companies that pay taxes at…”
- And Candy interrupted, insisting “But those companies that tend to create most of the jobs?”
- Trumka, the union guy, inserts “It’s not fair to—it’s not fair to say most of the jobs. They create some of the jobs, not most of the jobs.
- And Candy again seeks to support the myth. “Well, most of the jobs within the small-business industry.”
- Trumka can’t let it stand, because it’s not true. “Not most of the jobs within the small businesses. They’re not created by the 3 percent. They’re created—the vast majority are created by the other 97 percent. So it’s not fair to say most jobs are created by that top 3 percent, because they are—are not.”
- Candy lets the small biz association guy have the last word.
Is she taking a side on this, or doesn’t she understand? Either way it didn’t work out so well (unless this was an audition for Fox News). Sure sounded to me as though she was advancing the conservative (and erroneous) side of the argument, even to the point of helping out the association spokesperson when he was conceding too much ground.
I would like to see Trumka on TV even more. He’s sharp, knows policy—and he looks like your plumber. Can’t hang an elitist label on that guy.
I will embed the video when or if it becomes available. This part of the interview was not included in the clips featured on the CNN site, but once the video podcast has been pushed out maybe you can see it in the whole-show video. Maybe not. They might just excerpt it; it’s a long show. Somebody must capture all of every show. Media Matters? Are you interested in this?
Here is the transcript.
CROWLEY: Let me ask you about one—one final policy, and that is about the Bush tax cuts. As you know, they are scheduled to be—to expire in January. This president wants to keep them for anyone who makes $250,000 per household or under. I want you to listen to Joe Biden a little bit ago on this subject.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: The only argument that our colleagues, our Republican colleagues make is, well, this is really going to hurt small business if you don’t extent the entire Bush tax cuts. Here are the facts: 3, not 3 percent of the small businesses in America would benefit one single, solitary penny of extending that top 2 percent tax cut. So this is just a bunch of malarkey. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Mr. McCracken, clear this up for us, because every time we start on this—start down this tax cut thing and the $250,000 mark, what we hear is this is going to hurt small businesses. Is this overall a drain on small businesses? Should the tax rates expire on those making $250,000 and up?
MCCRACKEN: We think this is the wrong time to have taxes go up for—for small companies, because they do pay taxes at this rate, so we think Congress should at least temporarily extend…
(CROSSTALK)
CROWLEY: For everyone?
MCCRACKEN: Yes, these taxes, because this is the wrong time to increase taxes on anybody, because the companies that do pay this tax—and it is a minority of small companies, for sure—but the ones that do are the more successful ones who are most likely to be growing jobs and the ones that we want to continue to be successful and we don’t want to put disincentives in place for them to do it.
But the vice president is correct that it is only a fraction of small companies that pay taxes at…
(CROSSTALK)
CROWLEY: But those companies that tend to create most of the jobs?
MCCRACKEN: Exactly. The jobs aren’t spread across evenly across all small companies.
CROWLEY: OK. All right. And you’ve got the last…
TRUMKA: It’s not fair to—it’s not fair to say most of the jobs. They create some of the jobs, not most of the jobs.
CROWLEY: Well, most of the jobs within the small-business industry.
TRUMKA: Not most of the jobs within the small businesses. They’re not created by the 3 percent. They’re created—the vast majority are created by the other 97 percent. So it’s not fair to say most jobs are created by that top 3 percent, because they are—are not.
CROWLEY: I’ll give you the last word.
(CROSSTALK)
MCCRACKEN: Well, there’s the question of job creation versus jobs—jobs that exist. Most small businesses—most jobs exist in—in the other businesses, but I think the more successful, growing companies that pay the higher rates are creating most of the new jobs, so it depends on how you look at it.
CROWLEY: Todd McCracken, it always comes out (inaudible) Todd McCracken, Richard Trumka, thank you so much for joining us. Happy Labor Day to you both. TRUMKA: Happy Labor Day to you.
CROWLEY: Up next, what the numbers say about President Obama’s handling of the economy and why that could erase his Democratic majority in Congress.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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