Expanding Overtime

 

Huffington Post reports that 9 Senate Democrats are proposing to expand the guidelines for what workers will receive overtime for working more than 40 hours in a week. A bill proposed by retiring Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa would raise the very low threshold used to make employees exempt (not eligible for overtime). The current limit is $455 per week (about $22,000 annual). The Democrats would phase in increases that would raise the limit to $1,090 per week (about $54,000 annual).

 

This is a great proposal because it would be an immediate improvement for those making more than the minimum wage, and it would eventually even help the middle class. Critics will say that employers will just cut hours and make more positions part-time. The problem with that claim is that many companies who have tried to do this are getting what they pay for: bad work from employees who will leave the first chance they get. Given the current political climate, this bill – like the minimum wage – has almost no chance of passing. What it does do is change the conversation. Democrats are trying to find ways to help the middle class. Hopefully, some Republicans will join with them and do the right thing for hard working Americans.

Extending Unemployment

Writing in Daily Kos, Laura Clawson examines the debate over extending unemployment benefits.  What she finds is that there was no debate when George W. Bush was president.  During a time when the unemployment rate was lower, the House approved 5 extensions, each of which was not paid for.  Now House Republicans are insisting that the benefit which workers contributed to be paid for.  Wouldn’t it be great if they asked for the same kind of responsibility from large corporations that pay no taxes and still receive government benefits?  As Clawson points out, this policy also makes no sense because it takes buying power out of the economy.  Of course, that is a common theme when it comes to how the GOP thinks about working people, as we have also seen in the debate over raising the minimum wage.

Do some poor people cheat through programs like unemployment and food stamps?  Sure.  So do upper income people cheat – legally – through tax dodges and estate planning.  The problem is that poor people don’t fund the campaigns of the politicians who make the laws and tax policy.  What poor and working class people can do is vote.  Hopefully, they will remember and get to the polls.

 

Sabbath, October 13, 2013

[“Sabbath” is this blog’s Sunday feature that looks beyond jobs and careers.]

The Week Ahead

This very well could be the week the U.S. government defaults on its debt.  If that happens, experts say the world economy will be harmed.  So why don’t Republicans in the Congress do what their predecessors have done, which is to increase the debt limit?  Politics.  The GOP and its Tea Party wing have become so desperate in their hatred of President Obama that they are willing to do anything to ensure that his presidency is a failure.  I am not being partisan in saying this.  Why did the same members of Congress – Boehner, Cantor, Ryan – raise the debt ceiling under President Bush and allow two wars and the new Medicare program to be put off the books if they cared so much about the debt and spending?  The simple answer is that Republican leaders in the House only care about politics, and they see default as a path to power.  They believe the public will come to blame the President for the consequences of a default, which could include an instant jump in interest rates and a quick trip back into recession.

I’m not a great fan of President Obama.  He’s been too soft in all of his dealings with the Republicans.  He negotiates by starting with the compromise and then giving away even more.  In some way, the GOP’s action could be based on this behavior:  They’re sure he will give in again.  So far, the president has been steadfast in refusing to compromise, asking to be treated as other presidents have been in the past.  The problem is that the current group of Republicans is unlike any politicians we have seen in their ability to invent a reality to fit their rhetoric.  They are also very flexible in shifting from demand to demand, moving from healthcare to spending and now a mix of spending and social issues.  Many Democrats are gloating that this is the end of the GOP.  I’m not so sanguine.  If their action drives a weak economy into a tailspin, neither party will benefit, at least initially.  Then when the problem isn’t solved fast enough to fit a media news cycle, all blame will be shifted to Obama and the Democrats.  Even if the GOP caused the problem, the Democrats didn’t fix it.  This seems to be a very high stakes game of chicken.  I fear there will be a very ugly crash, and it will begin later this week.

More Union Busting in Wisconsin

Writing in Think Progress, Pat Garofalo reports that Wisconsin legislators are now trying to attack private sector unions in the name of “preventing layoffs.”  The plan is called “work-sharing,” and it would allow companies with union workers to cut hours without consulting unions.  The only way working people will be safe from such schemes is to vote for politicians who support labor rights; however, they are hard to find these days.  It will be interesting to see how Governor Walker reacts if this measure is passed.  Who frightens him more, the Koch Brothers or the voters?

All eyes on Wisconsin – again.

A Shameful Anniversary

Think Progress reports that it has been one year since Republicans in the Congress blocked the “Jobs Act.”  This bill would have provided money for infrastructure projects and funds to keep public employees in their jobs.  In the past, such bills were passed because they help Americans regardless of party.  Now the Republicans in Congress say no to everything that might help the economy.  They want to use the issue to beat President Obama and the Democrats.  This isn’t politics.  It’s shameful.

P.S. Paul Krugman blogged about the impact of the Jobs Act, which would have increased GDP by 1.5% and generated more than 2 million jobs.  Krugman says there is only one conclusion why this bill didn’t pass:  It would have been a big boost to President Obama’s re-election.