If you ever wondered how out of touch the stars of the hit reality show The Real Beverly Hillbillies of the White House is with the American people, look no further than Kevin Hassett, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
On Thursday, as the longest government shutdown in American history continues and federal workers try to figure out how to try to make ends meet with no pay, Hassett told PBSâ NewsHour that employees who are struggling to survive with no end in sight were doing ok because they essentially got a free vacation.
âA huge share of government workers were gonna to take vacation days, say, between Christmas and New Yearâs,â Hassett said, Talking Points Memo reports. âAnd then we have a shutdown, and so they canât go to work, and so then they have the vacation, but they donât have to use their vacation days.â
He added: âAnd then they come back, and then they get their back pay. Then theyâre in some sense theyâre better off.â
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) condemned the comments Friday afternoon:
Hassett also noted that slavery wasnât that bad because it included food, lodging and a free exercise regimen.
