Around the U.S., many fast-food workers are striking for higher wages. But they aren't finding much sympathy from Fox News pundits and journalists, says John Oliver at The Daily Show. And it's clear — and predictable — where Oliver's sympathies lie.
Oliver starts out noting economic forecasts that say raising the minimum wage will be good for both fast food companies and their low-wage workers — while also highlighting the fat profits companies like McDonald's are booking these days. Then he turns to Fox News analysts, running a series of tightly edited clips of Fox personalities saying unkind or demonstrably silly things about fast-food workers.
Neil Cavuto at Fox Business Network, for example, talks about how his stint at a fast-food joint at age 16 — at $2 an hour — was considered good work in 1974. Oliver points out that the average age of fast-food workers today is 28, and that in 2013 dollars, Cavuto started out earning almost $9.50 an hour, or $2 more than today's minimum wage.
In the next segment, Oliver steps back from hitting Fox News and takes aim at the media in general, with a special jab at MSNBC's Chris Matthews. This gist of this portion of the show is: Can't the political press wait until at least September, when Jon Stewart gets back, to start covering the 2016 presidential race? The answer is no, and Oliver bows to the inevitable: Correspondent Jessica Williams, in New Hampshire, covering Hillary 2016:
