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September 12, 2005

Minimum Wage Suspension

Lets ponder who this action serves the most:

The Washington Post (9/9/05)

President Bush yesterday suspended application of the federal law governing workers' pay on federal contracts in the Hurricane Katrina-damaged areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The action infuriated labor leaders and their Democratic supporters in Congress, who said it will lower wages and make it harder for union contractors to win bids.

The Davis-Bacon Act, passed in 1931 during the Great Depression, sets a minimum pay scale for workers on federal contracts by requiring contractors to pay the prevailing or average pay in the region. Suspension of the act will allow contractors to pay lower wages. Many Republicans have opposed Davis-Bacon, charging that it amounts to a taxpayer subsidy to unions.

Want a bigger picture... lets do a little hypothetical math. Companies (and Haliburton is already there kiddies) going into the area to assist in rebuilding the hurricane ravaged land will have the benefit of:

* No-Cap spending on contracts.
* Ensured Profit contracts
* No-Bid contracting
* Removal of the minimum wage standards for workers.

Hmmm... seems to me this just bankrolls corporate machinery (administration) more than anyone... corporate can charge the government anything they want, and curb their worker cost by paying under minumum wage. Great job in financing there G Dub. Not only do you screw the victims of the hurricane, but also the american worker AND the taxpayers. Way to go.

Posted by Ravennacht at September 12, 2005 10:09 PM Posted to Politics