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The Minimum Wage Fight; Casey Kasem found Near Seattle; Karl Rove on Hillary Clinton's Health
Aired May 15, 2014 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RACHEL NICHOLS, HOST, CNN'S "UNGUARDED": The NBA has not yet even officially notified Donald Sterling that they intend to remove his ownership. Once they do that, that kicks off a timed process. He has five days to respond. They have 10 days after that to hold a board of governors vote. So they're waiting to gather their case. They're crossing their t's, they're dotting their i's. Right now, most of the players, including, as you heard there, LeBron, willing to sit tight while that process goes on. However, in the coming months, Carol, if they feel like this is getting mired down in politics so that maybe there's a stall out here, that's when you're going to hear the boycott talk start again.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Rachel Nichols reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, it's called the fight for 15. Workers pushing to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. And it's taken on an international flavor today. Poppy Harlow is in New York with that story.
Good morning, Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
This protest happening in 150 U.S. cities, 33 countries. They want the federal minimum wage to more than double. But we wanted to know, what do the men and women who run these companies think? Should the federal minimum wage be raised? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The battle to boost the minimum wage goes global today. Workers in 150 U.S. cities are joining their counterparts in 33 countries around the world in a massive protest staged by fast food workers. They're calling on employers to pay them $15 an hour. Poppy Harlow is in New York this morning.
And I know, Poppy, you've spoken with several leading CEOs on this issue. What have they told you?
HARLOW: Well, that's the big question, Carol, can the companies afford to keep these people employed, or whether they can afford it or not, will they at $15 an hour if we were to see that?
Just to give you some perspective, the average fast food worker in this country makes $8.83 an hour. That's actually above the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour. Really important to note that we've been seeing an influx of states raising their minimum wages. Twenty-seven states in this country now have a minimum wage that is higher than the federal minimum wage or they have voted to pass it.
For example, Vermont just this week, they're going to be at $10.50 an hour by 2018. Seattle's mayor is pushing for $15 an hour. But when it comes down to it, it is the executives of these companies who get to decide how many people they're going to hire and at what level, what minimum wage, they're just not going to bring on more employees. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Minimum wage is a key topic right now in this country. Should the federal minimum wage be raised?
WARREN BUFFETT, CEO, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY: That's the toughest question you could ask me because I've thought about it for 50 years and I don't know the answer on it. I --
HARLOW: Really?
BUFFETT: Well, I just don't -- I -- in economics, you always have to say, and then what? And the real question is, are more people going to be better off, you know, if it is raised? And I don't know the answer to that. But you do lose some employment as you increase the minimum wage. You know, if you didn't, I'd be for having it be $15 an hour.
HARLOW: Do you think the federal minimum wage should be raised from $7.25 an hour?
HOWARD SCHULTZ, CEO, STARBUCKS: I do think that there are fundamental issues and a larger gap between the haves and have-nots in America. And I applaud the president for taking a stance on raising minimum wage. I'm not sure that the rhetoric around $10 at the federal level or $15 at the state level in Washington is the right number. I would hate to think that we'd have to raise prices. We may have to offer our people with a menu of a la carte benefits. And I'm just saying may.
HARLOW: Right.
SCHULTZ: We may not be able to afford to provide all the benefits if we had to go to $10 an hour.
HARLOW: Would it cost jobs if the federal minimum wage was increased significantly? That's another argument that we could --
SCHULTZ: I would -- I would hope not. But I -- but, again, these are questions that have to be answered in real time.
JOHN GAINOR, CEO, DAIRY QUEEN: We really do believe that people need to be paid a fair wage. And right now it varies state by state. So, you know, we are working through that issue with our operators. And there's a big issue. We hire a lot of teenage and part-time employees, especially during the summer. So we're trying to weigh what the real impact of increasing the minimum wage will truly be.
CARLY FIORINA, FORMER CEO, HEWLETT-PACKARD: It will help some people who already have a job. It will hurt people who do not have jobs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: And that is the key argument for those who do not want to see the minimum wage raised, that if you raise it, people are not going to employ, and then what do you do with all these workers? That falls on the government, government benefits. The proponents say, you have to pay them a living wage, Carol. If you pay them more, they're not going to leave their jobs. There will be less turnover. And, frankly, they're going to have, proponents say, more money to spend on your goods and services.
COSTELLO: Right.
HARLOW: Quickly I want you to take a look at these numbers because they are interesting, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Eighty percent of those who make minimum wage are actually over 25. Twenty percent are between 16 and 24. Thirty-five percent have some college or the associate degree.
So, Carol, this goes to the issue you and I have talked about a lot, and that these are not all teenage workers or very young workers that are taking home minimum wage.
COSTELLO: Right. And I just want to provide some more food for thought.
HARLOW: Yes.
COSTELLO: This was a study just released by Johns Hopkins. It shows since 1983, government benefits like food stamps are up 121 percent for single-parent families with incomes below $26,000.
HARLOW: Right.
COSTELLO: That means those people are working, right? Benefits exploded 268 percent for married families with incomes below that level. So you have many, many more working families who are getting food stamps --
HARLOW: Yes.
COSTELLO: And who are perhaps on Medicaid than you did in 1983. So there's got to be some solution. And I know the CBO said that if you raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, 500,000 jobs would be lost.
HARLOW: Right.
COSTELLO: But on the other hand, 900,000 people would be lifted out of poverty.
HARLOW: Right.
COSTELLO: So the struggle is, is which it better?
HARLOW: Well, and that's the key question. The CBO report also, as you know, Carol, went on to say, it could cost less jobs or it could cost up to a million jobs. The reality is, you don't know until you do it. I think we need to watch the states very closely. What's happening in Washington, D.C., for example, they're going up to $11.50 an hour by 2016. Seattle, again, pushing for $15 an hour. Vermont going to $10.10. What happens in those states and particular industries when you do that? We're not going to know that for a matter of years until this all kicks in.
But a key thing we can't forget is technology. You know, Carol, you were here last week in New York. You go to the airport. And I know in the Delta terminal, for example, you see iPads, and you order your food off iPads. IPads have replaced waiters, and it is happening more. And I think the real question is, where is that fine line when it comes to what technology allows us to do and the wages that people need to get by.
You know, Warren Buffett, in our conversation, said even though he doesn't know if the minimum wage should be raised -- and I think a lot of us expected him to say it should because he's liberal and he's a proponent of President Obama -- he said, you know, technology is improving, and it is not a bad thing that technology is replacing jobs, but this is the reality. The reality we have to live with. And I think a lot of people are scratching their heads for the right answer.
COSTELLO: Poppy Harlow, many thanks, as usual. I appreciate it.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a search that could have stretched the globe ends on the West Coast as deputies in Washington state find Casey Kasem. We'll talk about that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Casey Kasem's family feared the radio host was taken out of the country. Well, it turns out he's in Washington State. Just last week, a judge ordered an investigation into the whereabouts of the longtime "America's Top 40" host after he left a nursing home while being treated for dementia.
Nischelle Turner is in New York with more -- so what's he doing in Washington State?
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's a good question. I think that is still trying to be figured out, Carol. You know, for his children, though, there is that good news that Casey Kasem has been spotted in Washington State, like you mentioned. The bad news, though, they still don't know his exact location.
Now according to television station KOMO in Seattle, sheriff's deputies in Kitsap County, Washington performed a welfare check on Tuesday at an address provided by California Adult Protective Services.
Now, they found Casey and his wife visiting others at a home. The couple told deputies they were just on vacation. So after determining that Casey was not in distress and that he was receiving an appropriate care, the deputies left them there. Casey Kasem's daughter, Kerri who of course, has been granted temporary conservatorship told us last night that quote, "We are grateful for local authorities for finding my dad. We are one step closer to bringing him home."
She also said that Kasem's exact location in Washington is, quote, "still being determined", that authorities have not released the address where they found him and that the family still has, quote, "grave concerns about his medical care".
Now what we don't know is, you know, who gave them the tip that he was actually in Washington State before they got the address. And they also -- we also don't know why Kerri Kasem who like we said has been granted conservatorship has been given that address where he is or was because by law, she is his legal guardian until at least June 20th, which is that next court date, Carol.
COSTELLO: So the drama continues. Nischelle Turner.
TURNER: Yes, it does.
COSTELLO: Live in New York. Thanks so much.
Checking some other "Top Stories" for you at 46 minutes past.
This morning the United States is taking a bigger role in the search for Nigeria's kidnapped schoolgirls. The Pentagon has mobilized drones and manned aircraft with no sign of the 200-some girls.
In the meantime, four Nigerian soldiers died in an ambush in the same village where terror group Boko Haram raided the girls' boarding school.
Malaysian officials now setting up a new plan to improve communications about Flight 370. That news follows the suspension of the underwater search for the plane. The Australian ship the "Ocean Shield" is heading back to port for repair parts. The Bluefin 21 and the ship's transponder were damaged when the drone was being hoisted on the deck.
And we are about 15 minutes away from what will be a very powerful event in lower Manhattan. The dedication ceremony for the National September 11th Memorial Museum. Will begin at the top of the hour.
President Obama and the First Lady will be there along with family members of those killed in the attack and first responders. When the ceremony begins, of course, we'll bring it to you live.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID BRINK: When we arrived there, the second plane had struck the tower before we were ready to go inside to start to evacuate the people. We were there for about approximately a half an hour, you know, getting 200 to 300 people out of the north tower, and that's when the north tower started to collapse.
I was injured during the collapses. I was out of work for a week. And then I went back on the following Tuesday right down to the site. It was very difficult work. I was using my hands to move debris around. I was in need of a pair of gloves. And there were leather gloves that were donated there.
Once I put the gloves on, I noticed somebody had written in black ink, it said "thank you" on them. It could have been from a firefighter in California. It could have been from a school kid in Indiana. I don't know. They were here in spirit. They were here with me. And they aided in the recovery effort. And that was their own little way of pitching in. And I, for one, appreciate that. Those simple words, "thank you," circled. They helped me get through that day and a lot of other days, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Bill Clinton is firing back over comments made about his wife's health. This after Republican strategist Karl Rove suggested Hillary Clinton might have suffered from complications. Well, he implied it was brain damage following a 2013 hospital stay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: First they said she faked her concussion. And now they say she's auditioning for a part on "The Walking Dead".
She works out every week. She is strong. She's doing great. As far as I can tell, she's in better shape than I am.
KARL ROVE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Wait a minute no, no, I didn't say she had brain damage. She had a serious health episode.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So there you have it. Senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar joins me now to talk about this controversy. Good morning.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol. You know, I mean, health is always kind of fair game, right? I think this is something that comes up a lot in campaigns. And even though Hillary Clinton hasn't said that she's running yet, that's sort of the feel that you're getting.
So health is fair game, but insinuating that someone may be brain damaged -- and we don't have a recording of what Rove said, but it doesn't necessarily seem to be fair game. According to the "New York Post" gossip page, page 6, he did say that she showed up after having this concussion wearing glasses that are only for people with a traumatic brain injury. And apparently he repeated that many times. So I think the sort of consensus on that is that it wasn't really fair game that he did it, but I also think a lot of people aren't surprised this kind of thing happens in politics. You know, and she's probably going to get a little more of it.
One interesting thing, I did speak to a neurologist to say, hey, you know, let's do a little fact check on this. And he told me that she's no longer wearing these glasses. The ones you probably recognize, they kind of looked pretty thick. They had a prism on one side here. She was wearing them for the Benghazi hearing that, you know, we saw her.
He said that a lot of times when patients have a concussion, their recovery is complete, and those symptoms are temporary. And he has no reason to believe, looking at the fact she's not wearing those glasses now, that that's not the case for her.
COSTELLO: Well you know, it is fair to point to her health, right? And especially if she runs for president, but I don't know. Karl Rove, maybe he should just -- even Newt Gingrich said this was a ridiculous thing to say.
KEILAR: You think he's just not concerned about her health and you know, he wants her to be in her best shape to run. I know, I sort of sense your skepticism on that, too. No, that's definitely fair game.
But I think one of the things this highlights is, you know, health in a way can also be a proxy for talking about age. And I think that's going to be an issue for Hillary Clinton. She is going to be 69 come Election Day in 2016. That's old for a candidate. It really is -- second only to Ronald Reagan. So I think what you're going to see especially, Carol, when you look at so many of the Republicans who look like they might throw their hat in the ring, they're a lot younger.
So it's possible that they may try to run an ageist campaign kind of against her. Even the idea of, like, old ideas versus new ideas.
COSTELLO: Look at the things that they said about John McCain.
KEILAR: Oh, sure.
COSTELLO: People said awful things about him. So I guess you're right. This is just part of the game.
KEILAR: Yes, you know, and they said it about Ronald Reagan, too. This is what some Republicans you talk to, hey, people tried to do this against Ronald Reagan. It didn't work. Republicans just need to kind of get on with this.
COSTELLO: Brianna Keilar, thanks so much.
We're just a few minutes away from the start of a dedication ceremony for the National September 11th Memorial Museum. The special ceremony starts at the top of the hour. Chris Cuomo and Ashleigh Banfield are in lower Manhattan near ground zero.
We'll bring this ceremony to you live. NEWSROOM continues after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Remembering a day that changed America and refusing to allow the terrorists to write its history. About to get under way, the official dedication of the September 11th Memorial Museum in New York -- rooted in the ashes of Ground Zero, this underground tribute takes ownership of that narrative, telling the story of courage, selflessness and so much sacrifice.
This wall is a mosaic of nearly 3,000 squares, each one a different watercolor drawing for each life taken. President Obama began touring the site minutes ago.
Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. I'd like to welcome viewers from around the world to this special edition of NEWSROOM. Chris Cuomo and Ashleigh Banfield are in New York to walk us through today's solemn milestone. Take it away.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Carol, thank you very much.
