Quayle Sees Upbeat Sign at Home of Whopper

Stopping his motorcade near a Burger King restaurant in Riverside County on Friday, Vice President Dan Quayle declared that a “Now Hiring” sign in the window was an indication that the economy is rebounding.

“I want to go show you an optimistic sign that things are beginning to turn around,” Quayle said as he proceeded to lead a pack of reporters and photographers to the door of the restaurant in the city of Norco.

Inside, manager Terie Roeder said that the available jobs were part-time and paid the minimum wage of $4.25 an hour.

“Can they live on it? No,” Roeder said, in answer to a question from reporters. She added: “It’s hard to find people who want to actually show up” for the job.

Such information did not quell Quayle’s optimism.

“You have a part-time job, you have a job,” the vice president said. “That’s better than no job at all.”

As for those who choose to collect welfare rather than sling burgers or clean tables part time, Quayle said: “Well, that’s one of the reasons that you ought to change the welfare system.”

Quayle’s brief interlude at the Home of the Whopper was sandwiched between tours of two Ontario aerospace facilities.

Since Wednesday, Quayle has campaigned across California, emphasizing the Bush Administration’s efforts to create new jobs in the midst of the lingering recession. Criticisms of the Administration include the charge that its economic policies have resulted in a loss of high-paying industrial and manufacturing positions in favor of low-paying service-sector jobs.

Quayle, an avid golfer, will end his four-day California visit by playing in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic near Palm Springs.

As he toured the aerospace facilities Friday, Quayle roundly criticized Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) and other Democratic leaders who have called for major post-Cold War cuts in defense spending.

At a 30-minute meeting at the Lockheed Aircraft Service Co. with 20 aerospace union leaders flown in from across the nation, the vice president asserted that the Democrats “believe that the American people don’t really support a strong defense.”

“I don’t buy that argument,” Quayle said. “How do you think we buried communism? Through being strong and determined to have the political will to invest in our national security.”

If $100 billion in defense spending were slashed during the next five years, California could lose 36,000 jobs, Quayle said.

Last month, the Aerospace Industries Assn. reported that employment nationwide dropped 8% in 1991, to 1.16-million jobs. The industry is expected to post flat sales and lose more jobs this year, the association reported.

The Lockheed facility, where Quayle looked on as technicians added new communications cables to an MC-130E Combat Talon cargo transport plane, has lost 300 of its 2,500 jobs since 1989, a spokesman said.

Quayle first toured the Wyle Laboratories aerospace facility, then made an impromptu stop at a small shopping center to greet citizens. It was there that he called attention to the hiring sign at the Burger King.

Outside the restaurant, he hugged patron Karla Almares and asked her about the state of the economy.

“Slow,” said the Moreno Valley dental crown maker.

“Let’s hope it’s getting better,” Quayle replied.

Inside the restaurant, Quayle rhapsodized about the “Now Hiring” banner. He called it “the best sign I’ve seen today.”

“Look, I’m for jobs, all kinds of jobs,” he said. “Entry level jobs, part-time jobs, full-time jobs. Jobs beginning at minimum wage. Jobs paying $10 an hour.”

Outside the Lockheed facility, however, Quayle was asked if he would advise laid-off aerospace employees to seek a $4.25-an-hour job at Burger King.

“No,” he emphatically replied.