Obama’s proposed minimum wage: $10.10. His interns’ salary: $0.00

At the risk of sounding like a liberal, I generally agree with claims that “internships” are a sneaky way to extract unpaid labor from struggling young people. But it turns out most liberals are hypocrites on the issue after all. Although Obama has tried to shame Republicans who oppose a minimum wage hike to $10.10 per hour, White House “interns” make…nothing.

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Obama has a lot of nerve to talk about “economic justice” if he can’t rustle up a spare cent for White House interns.

The White House declined multiple opportunities to comment on whether it would rethink its position on not compensating the roughly 300 interns who work there each year. Also met with silence was Stephen Lurie, who elevated the issue in a recent Washington Post op-ed. In it, he told the president: “Unpaid internships contradict your commitments and your economic agenda.”

“It is pretty indefensible from a publicity point of view, given the nature of their outreach on a lot of other economic subjects,” Lurie said of the lack of a response from the administration, which dates back to April 3. “There is not a huge constituency they have to answer to. Who are they going to piss off by not answering? Right now it is just young people and economic-justice advocates.”

Well said. Like a true liberal, Obama probably expects Washington interns to make ends meet by mooching off others (especially parents). If that doesn’t cut it, maybe they can apply for food stamps.

Also see: The 25 Most Motivational Quotes Of All Time

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