Ocasio-Cortez: "Unemployment Is Low Because Everyone Has Two Jobs"

In an appearance on PBS' Fire Line last week, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the socialist Democratic nominee for a New York City Congressional seat that unemployment is low "because everyone has two jobs."



Ocasio-Cortez's assertion was ranked "pants on fire" wrong by Politifact.



Ocasio-Cortez also said, "when this country started, we were not a capitalist economy."













MARGARET HOOVER, HOST: Do you think that capitalism has failed to deliver for working-class Americans or is no longer the best vehicle for working-class Americans?



ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: Well, I think the numbers that you just talked about is part of the problem, right?



Because we look at these figures, and we say, ‘Oh, unemployment is low. Everything is fine,’ right?



Well, unemployment is low because everyone has two jobs.



Unemployment is low because people are working 60, 70, 80 hours a week and can barely feed their kids.

And so, I do think that, right now, when we have this no-holds-barred, Wild West hypercapitalism, what that means is profit at any cost.



Capitalism has not always existed in the world, and it will not always exist in the world.



When this country started, we were not a capitalist — we did not operate on a capitalist economy.

HOOVER: You used the term ‘the occupation of Palestine.’



OCASIO-CORTEZ: Mm-hmm. Oh.



HOOVER: What did you mean by that?



OCASIO-CORTEZ: Oh.



I think what I meant is, like, the settlements that are increasing in some of these areas and in places where Palestinians are experiencing difficulty in access to their housing and homes.



HOOVER: Do you think you can expand on that?



OCASIO-CORTEZ: Yeah. I mean, I think I’d also just — I am not the expert [Laughing] at geopolitics on this issue.



You know, for me, I’m a firm believer in finding a two-state solution in this issue, and I’m happy to sit down with leaders on both of this — on both of these — for me, I just look at things through a human-rights lens.



And I may not use the right words.



[ Laughs ]



I know this is a very intense issue.

Ocasio-Cortez is asked to expand on her opinion that Israel is "occupying" Palestine: