I don’t know know whether the news that Feingold’s campaign is advertising for unpaid interns represents Russ Feingold’s hypocrisy – after all, he’s looking specifically for people who will commit to spreading for free the message that there should be a generous minimum wage hike – or just his general cluelessness about how things work now. I mean, ever since [mc_name name=’Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’J000293′ ] sent him packing from the Senate Russ Feingold has been bitterly licking his wounds in academia, which is about the worst place in the world for keeping on top of current societal trends.  Guess we’ll just have to go with the healing power of ‘and’ on this one:

In this position, interns are given a wide range of tasks and are guaranteed to learn a great deal about a campaign for U.S. Senate. Strong writing, research, and organizational skills are required; having a positive attitude and being outgoing are also appreciated. Scheduling is extremely flexible. All internships are unpaid and require a commitment of 8 to 12 hours per week.

…Guy won’t even shell out $180 bucks a week for this? Talk about a cheapskate!  A brazen one, at that.

Now, I understand the arguments against paying interns.  After all, it’s not like you can just toss them a couple of hundred bucks a week out of petty cash these days. Nope! There’s paperwork, and disclaimers, and regulations, and filings, and there are the taxes, and then there’s Obamacare – we mustn’t forget Obamacare, right? – and the other six million details of petty bureaucracy that get in the way of what should be a reasonably straightforward commercial transaction.  But, hey, bigger government’s a great thing, right?  I mean, that’s what Russ Feingold actually campaigns on.

…And then, of course, there’s the employment situation for young people these days. Fewer and fewer jobs for the kids, these days: what with the labor participation rate being so low, the jobs that do become available are likely to be filled by older people, because they tend to show up on time for work more often and don’t bring as many hangovers with them.  Even the retail jobs are ever-so-slightly drying up, thanks to reduced schedules and automation.  Gee, I wonder why that is? …Oh, right: Obamacare, and minimum wage hikes! Like the one that this dude called for:

But hey, at least Russ Feingold supports a living wage! …For people who don’t work for him. Well, that’s unfair: he does pay some of the people who work for him. The people that, you know, matter.

Moe Lane (crosspost)